Epicor Eagle Boosts Operations for Lumber and Building Materials Supplier
Since 1922, F.O. Barden & Son, Inc. has been supplying lumber and building materials to the Northern Michigan communities. As a fifth-generation, family-owned, and operated company, they have years of knowledge in the construction industry passed down through generations of experience. National buying power allows them to offer their customers competitive pricing and extensive resources. Area contractors and homeowners trust their friendly, small-town service provided by knowledgeable staff that helps with all their needs.
With a tagline of "Everything to Build With," F.O. Barden has used Epicor Eagle retail business management software for over 30 years. They expanded their use of its functionality throughout the business and depend on its robust applications to better manage business operations, especially inventory management.
“Until several years ago, our use of technology was very limited,” said Asuka Barden, office manager at F.O. Barden & Son. “We mostly operated manually and didn’t use the Eagle system to its full power at all. As a century-old business, traditional business operation practices have been hard to change. When I came on board, I saw all the areas that could use improvement and knew that with technology, we could greatly boost our efficiency. Through many months of research and determination, I was able to convince the business owners—my father and grandfather—to dive deeper into technology and expand our use of Epicor solutions."
Our partnership with Epicor has made it easy to transition into a 21st-century business. We have great plans to stay on par with technology and know it will help our business grow.
“Now, with the latest version of Eagle software, all the information we need is right at our fingertips—no more rummaging through old paperwork. We have received numerous compliments from our customers about our productivity and product availability. Technology has made our business more efficient and our lives much easier,” said Barden.
Special orders are an important aspect of customer service—accounting for a significant portion of sales at F.O. Barden.
Special orders are an important aspect of customer service—accounting for a significant portion of sales at F.O. Barden. “With Eagle software special orders functionality, our work is much easier. Our receiving process is so easy now. It connects with our point of sale (POS) and helps salesmen complete a special order in POS so that it quickly gets sent back to purchasing and receiving as a temporary accounts payable voucher. When the order arrives, the receiving team can simply add notes to each special order. Then, the system automatically prints tickets notifying us that the items are ready for pickup and emails the employee when they have been received. This is especially helpful because it shows up as an open order which keeps us on track with whether orders are being picked up and it ensures that we are getting the invoices out on time so that we get paid. It’s a significant tool that’s definitely helped us run the business better,” said Barden.
“Before the Eagle system, we had no streamlined recordkeeping other than handwritten notes. Our storage areas were full of special orders that were never picked up. The Eagle software reports help tremendously because I can now set parameters on our orders, which allows me to really stay on top of that inventory. Our customers now know that we handle special orders well and that we take pride in getting the orders right. So even if they go somewhere else to get their big commodity load, they’ll still come to us for their garage doors, or other specialty items, because they trust us,” said Barden.
“The Eagle special orders functionality has really streamlined everything that we do. Our staff no longer needs to keep special order information stored in their heads, but can seamlessly track it in the system,” said Barden.
“As far as a competitive advantage, our customers are delighted that they can get their invoices emailed to them. This simple change definitely helps them and allows us to stay competitive with other businesses. Our customers really appreciate getting automatic invoices as soon as something is purchased because they are able to keep an eye on business purchases much easier and faster rather than waiting until the end of the month for a paper invoice. I know that functionality alone makes us more competitive than before we had the Eagle technology,” said Barden.
Our customers really appreciate getting automatic invoices as soon as something is purchased because they are able to keep an eye on business purchases much easier and faster rather than waiting until the end of the month for a paper invoice. I know that functionality alone makes us more competitive than before we had the Eagle technology
“Our partnership with Epicor has made it easy to transition into a 21st-century business. We have great plans to stay on par with technology and know that it will help our business grow,” said Barden.
