Paxton Company

Since 1927, Paxton Company has been distributing quality marine safety supplies and industrial equipment to boat and yacht builders, marinas, repair shops and other skilled trade professionals.  Paxton Company has nearly one hundred employees serving at its corporate headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia and its branch locations in Wilmington, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina who are dedicated to providing the kind of quality products and services that Paxton customers have come to expect for more than eighty years.

Paxton Company stocks nearly 15,000 items from leading vendors such as 3M, Avery Dennison, Brownell, Danforth, Hubbell, Jabsco, Perko and many others. Ranging from adhesives and coring materials to navigation lights, paints, rope cleats, safety kits, solvents, winches and more, the Paxton Company catalog includes most everything needed by craftspeople and enthusiasts alike to build, operate and maintain their watercrafts in shipshape condition.

Paxton Company sells to thousands of customers in the Mid-Atlantic states from Maryland to Georgia. Sixteen outside salespeople and seven inside customer service representatives work to build solid customer relationships by providing expert guidance and support.  It is not unusual for over 1,000 sales orders to arrive each day via phone, fax and online.  Paxton Company has its own fleet of trucks to deliver to their customer’s doorsteps on the following business day on most orders received by 5:00 p.m. Orders that require shipment by motor freight or UPS can be delivered the next day when received before 2:00 p.m.

Paxton Company is led by the brother and sister team of Jim Beale and Peggy Beale who each have gained a lifetime of experience working and managing in the privately-held, family-run business. Having successfully guided the company through the boating industry’s ups and downs, the Beale’s have gained respect as they have positioned Paxton Company as a leader in its industry.

Paxton Company Grows with Technology

Ever since Peggy graduated college with a degree in computer science, Paxton Company has made sound use of information technology (IT) to support its business objectives. With Peggy’s leadership, an NCR accounting system was installed in the late 1970s to automate Paxton Company’s basic accounting functions. By 1998 however, the looming Y2K software bug had pushed the legacy NCR system into crisis, necessitating a search for a new system.

After conducting a thorough review of their options, the Paxton Company management team decided to purchase Infor10 Distribution Express (FACTS).  Infor software would enable Paxton Company to solve both the immediate problem of Y2K compliance and to more fully automate its critical business processes such as accounting, inventory management, purchasing, sales order entry, and so on.

“We felt like the work had been done by Infor’s programmers to provide us with tools we needed to better manage our distribution business,” explained Peggy. “In the old NCR system, we had to create the business logic from scratch. In the case of Infor Distribution Express, we believed that the formulas embedded in the system to help end users more effectively manage their inventory and purchasing processes was the sort of business model that we wanted to emulate.”

Indeed, since its implementation in 1999 Infor Distribution Express has played a vital role in helping Paxton Company to maximize its use of human and material resources while providing the information needed to make better business decisions. Contributing to this success has been Paxton Company’s  close working relationship with Doug Crosby at Earnest & Associates (E&A) who has helped the customer get the most value possible from its IT investment. Doug’s knowledge of Infor Distribution Express and related technologies has proven valuable as Paxton Company has made continuous improvements to its system over the years. These include the implementations of mobile and online e-commerce systems in 2003; a warehouse management system in 2004; upgrades of the core Infor Distribution Express software in 2003 and 2006; and assorted modifications to deliver the precise feature/functionality desired by Paxton Company to help it run the most lean and profitable operation possible.

Meanwhile, Paxton Company’s Paul Flusche has worked closely with Peggy and Doug in the role of IT and inventory control manager for the past seven years. Paul has provided invaluable onsite support for Paxton Company’s extensive computer hardware and network infrastructure. Additionally, Paul’s many years of practical experience in demanding warehouse environments has suited him for the task of tailoring the Infor Distribution Express software to significantly improve Paxton Company’s order fulfillment and shipping processes.

Recently, Paul, Peggy and materials manager Lisa Freeman met with us to discuss how Infor Distribution Express and E&A have benefited Paxton Company.

Customer Service

Paxton Company has unique customer service challenges that are specific to the boat building industry. “Most of our boat builder customers are family-owned businesses who excel at their craft,” explained Peggy.  “The working day typically starts very early in the morning but the materials replenishment needs are assessed later that same day, usually starting around 2:00 in the afternoon. At that time, the job manager might say, ‘We need a paint brush, rollers, paint’ and so on and then place a call to us.”  

Peggy said that economic pressures have forced most boat builders to phase out their materials sheds in lieu of just-in-time (JIT) replenishment models.  This fundamental shift has placed greater burden on distributors like Paxton Company who are expected to efficiently process and ship orders with very little lead time and virtually no margin for error.  “Our customers expect the right materials will be delivered the next business day so that their jobs will stay on track,” said Peggy. 

Fortunately, Infor Distribution Express has enabled Paxton Company to meet and exceed the rising expectation levels of its customers.  The integrated e-wms module provides visibility into the on-hand inventories in all three stocking warehouses, providing invaluable insight to Paxton Company’s customer service representatives (CSRs) when interacting with their customers on the phone. “Because we have information from multiple warehouses, we can provide better service to our customers and fulfill more orders,” said Peggy.  “For example, let’s suppose that a customer in Charleston calls and wants to order ten items; however, only eight of the items are in stock in our Charleston warehouse but the other two are available in Norfolk.  By splitting the ticket between the two locations, we can assure the customer that we can get the order filled. Infor Distribution Express will specify the eight items to be delivered by the Charleston truck with the remaining two on their way from Norfolk.”

The item substitution capability within Infor Distribution Express has proven key to maintaining loyal customer relationships and capturing more orders. “We’ve really made a conscientious effort to utilize the item substitution feature,” said Peggy.  “It might be the case that we don’t have a one inch paint brush but we have a similar item in another size or from another supplier. When the customer phones in, the CSR might ask if it is alright to substitute. We might not have the right size bucket or paint roller but we might have another size in stock that works just as well for the customer. This is the kind of value-added service we can provide that allows us to capture more business while keeping our customers happy by saving them from the hassle of driving across town to buy these items from their local hardware store.” 

In fact, Paxton Company has found the substitute item feature to be so important that it has formed a committee to methodically go through each vendor’s individual line items to see where it might make sense to substitute like items. “It’s an ongoing committee with two people from materials management and two from customer service,” said Peggy. “It has to be a continuous effort because we add new vendors and items to our catalog all the time.  They’ve done so well that now we are thinking of other things we might do with Infor Distribution Express to provide the kind of services that our big-box retail store competitors can’t deliver.”

Mobile and E-Commerce

Paxton Company has taken the lead in using mobile and e-commerce technologies to extend the company’s services more closely to their customers.  A password-protected sales portal setup on Paxton Company’s web site has been a big success, processing hundreds of sales orders every day while remaining open for business 24/7/365.

Paxton Company’s outside salespeople use Dell Axim PDA’s to download vital information from Infor Distribution Express. The data is used to maximize their effectiveness when servicing their customers especially when visiting accounts face-to-face.  For example, salespeople can view their customer’s past purchases, search for items, and adjust pricing on the spot to match the competition, if necessary. Sales orders processed in the field can be sent from the nearest available wireless hot spot to the Infor Distribution Express server in Norfolk for processing; in return, the latest pricing and inventory information is sent back to the PDA, allowing Paxton Company’s salespeople to work with the latest available information.

Similarly, licensed dealers who have accounts setup with Paxton Company can login to the web site and view products available for sale including their customer-specific pricing levels. Many customers keep the web site open and place several orders throughout the day as their materials requirements become known.  Additionally, local customers in Norfolk, Charleston and Wilmington have the option of placing their orders online and arranging pick up at the counter.  In this manner, Paxton Company has positioned itself as a strategic business partner for its customers, winning a level of customer loyalty and internal efficiencies that its competitors cannot match.

“Our e-commerce site handles fifty percent of our orders,” said Paul. “Everything goes straight into Infor Distribution Express for review.  An auto print program prints the pick tickets and our warehouse manager processes the order. It’s a very efficient process.”

E&A has provided critical support services for Paxton Company’s mobile and e-commerce solutions. “Josh Fake wrote most of the code for Infor Distribution Express version 7.5 to make the interface to the Dell Axim work properly,” said Paul. “And on several occasions when we’ve had issues with the web site, Sam Neogi has been able to help us.  E&A has been great.” 

Warehouse Management

Paxton Company maintains over 40,000 square feet of warehouse space to support the hundreds of inbound orders it receives every day.  Recognizing that automating its warehouse operations could have a positive impact on its operations, Paxton Company met with Doug in 2003 to discuss their options.  Doug advised Paxton Company to take a close look at e-wms, a robust warehouse management system that has been fully integrated with Infor Distribution Express.  Following a careful review, Paxton Company’s managers decided that the time was right to raise its use of technology to the next level and placed an order with Doug for the e-wms software.

Paul spearheaded the implementation of e-wms in October, 2004.  The first major challenge for Paul was to bar code the various bin locations and the inventory items so that Paxton Company employees could use hand-held Telxon (Symbol) scanners to efficiently receive, put away and pick and pack orders. Having achieved this goal, Paul worked with a few remaining suppliers who did not yet have their products bar coded so that Paxton Company could use their hand-held’s to check in as many incoming orders as possible. Through years of diligent work, Paxton Company has achieved a practically paperless warehouse environment that has benefited the company in multiple ways.

“From an inventory control manager’s point of view, e-wms is an ideal tool,” said Paul.  “We don’t print orders or pick tickets. Everything is done using hand-held scanners which virtually eliminates errors. At the same time, we have implemented a zone picking strategy which greatly increases productivity because our people can become more familiar with the inventories in the respective zones.”

Additionally, e-wms produces useful management reports that allows Paxton Company to set reasonable productivity standards and assign workers to picking zones that are best suited to their individual skill sets. “With e-wms, we’ve made strides towards achieving greater utilization of our people,” said Paul. “We have setup different sets of standards for the worker’s zone assignments.  For example, the people in the paint locker have the burden of marking hazmat materials correctly so they are assigned a different standard than, say a person who is working in the security cage.  Packing small items into boxes means the worker can pull a whole lot quicker.  With the insights gained from e-wms, we can strategically move our people around and get the maximum return from our labor dollars.”

Importantly, the laser-sharp accuracy of the e-wms system has allowed Paxton Company to implement a cycle counting program that has greatly decreased inventory discrepancies while eliminating the need for an annual physical inventory. “Our physical inventory is approaching 100 percent accuracy,” said Paul. “I’m very proud of the fact that after three years with e-wms we were able to do away with the physical inventory. Before, we would have to close the plant down for two business days plus the weekend to do an annual physical inventory which is costly to the business. Now, we don’t lose sales anymore because we are closed for inventory.  We can use the e-wms cycle counting feature to count the whole building twice per year while we carry on with business as usual. Key locations such as the security cage where we stock electronics and other high dollar items are counted from eight to twelve times per year.  And the more we cycle count, the more we can discover where the few mistakes might be occurring and how to prevent them from happening again in the future. That’s the real benefit. e-wms is a great tool.”

Paul described how the benefits of an efficient warehouse operation flows throughout the organization and to Paxton Company’s customers.   “We have great confidence in the accuracy of the inventory in our building,” said Paul.  “Our buyers can make good decisions and stock only what is needed. Our customers know that we can deliver on our promise to accurately pick and ship their orders quickly for delivery the next business day.  That’s what gives us a competitive advantage.”

Purchasing

Individuals living in the Mid-Atlantic states tend to use their boats according to the rhythm of the seasons which complicates the task of inventory replenishment.  “We do buy seasonally,” confirmed Paul.  “We’re getting into our busy season which runs from March through the July 4^th holiday. That’s when owners begin to take their boats out of dry dock and into the water, meaning we will sell a lot of paint, zinc, paint rollers and etc.  We also get a spike in activity when winterization begins in October through December for items such as antifreeze, shrink wrap and related products. Each customer is unique in their demand for material, for example some boat builders will book orders in the spring and summer but build during the winter months; versus others who build year round,” he continued.

Lisa said, “Keeping the correct amount of seasonal inventory is always a challenge.  We strive to match our inventory with sales by anticipating what the sales volume will be as we approach each season.  Using the Infor Distribution Express replenishment system, the buyers at Paxton Company are equipped with the information they need to make sure that the right materials are available at the right time.”

Lisa discussed how Paxton Company has centralized information from its three stocking locations into a single department in order to improve efficiencies, take advantage of vendor discounts earned by reaching buying targets, and make better decisions.  “We have an educated team of Buyers who are responsible for managing the items that we turn from ‘cradle to grave’,” said Lisa.  “We have set up buying targets in Infor Distribution Express and use the suggested purchase order method in the majority of our buying decisions.  We also use the software to alert us to stock outs and unusually high sales conditions which are key to helping us adapt to the ever-changing preferences of our customers.” Lisa shared that Paxton Company buyers are empowered to move their reorder points and economic order quantities up or down to better align with each vendor’s unique freight requirements; resulting in a fifty percent savings in the company’s ongoing freight expenses.

Paxton Company’s extremely high inventory fill and turns rates compare favorably with its peers in the industry; attesting to the ingenuity of its materials management team and the flexibility of its Infor Distribution Express solution. These efficiencies achieved through reduced carrying costs has allowed Paxton Company to pass along the savings to their customers, enabling the company to sell more competitively in a challenging economic environment.

Manufacturing Control

The Manufacturing Control module with Infor Distribution Express has proven useful to Paxton Company in several crucial areas where it can provide high-value services to its customers.

Paxton Company sells U.S. Coast Guard-compliant kits that conveniently bundles everything deemed essential to the passenger’s life and safety aboard their small boats. The kit includes cushions, dock lines, flairs, life jackets, rope and so on. Paxton Company uses Manufacturing Control to define the bill of materials associated with each kit, allowing the company to more easily sell the kit as a popular stock item and to more accurately replenish their inventory.

Another area where Paxton Company provides expert service is paint mixing.  The ability of Infor Distribution Express to seamlessly tie together business processes from the point of purchase to the warehouse has simplified what might otherwise be an error-prone process.  “We sell paints to our customers whose color mixes are defined within the Manufacturing Control module,” said Paul. “We start with an empty can and tare weight.  The worker simply refers to the bill of materials to see which particular paint colors to add, blend and weigh. It’s worked very well for us.”  The bar coded ticket generated by e-wms allows the employee to scan the document when the mix is complete, proving that the job has been completed. A label is applied to the paint can which is now ready for picking and shipping.  “It’s an awesome system!” exclaimed Paul.  “You might think that complications could arise when mixing paints but our software system has enabled us to engineer a smooth process that works very well for us.”

Peggy commented on the value of having E&A’s software engineers available to help Paxton Company customize its Infor Distribution Express application to suit its needs. “Jim Morton has been great,” said Peggy.  “He was onsite providing support during the 7.5 upgrade. I like that he is a no-nonsense programmer who comes in and gets the job done.  The fact that he lives right up the street and is available to come onsite in a pinch is also very comforting to us.”

Network Support and Managed Services

E&A’s expertise in hardware, network and managed services has proved crucial in enabling Paxton Company to consistently maintain system uptime while minimizing overhead costs.

Paxton Company’s computer systems are configured to run on a powerful IBM RS/6000 server running the rock-solid AIX operating system.  Select power users have desktop PCs with most end users working from Windows terminals.  With over fifty active computer users, E&A’s configuration is intended to minimize the administrative costs and hassles that Paxton Company might otherwise contend with by managing many dozens of PC end users.  “I don’t have to waste a lot of time managing these work stations,” beamed Paul. “Instead, I can focus on making sure that everything is working right in the server room. In that particular area, it’s been indispensible to be able to call E&A’s Adam Team for support on our AIX system whenever I need help. To have Adam available as a resource has been great.  E&A has been helpful in keeping our systems run smoothly.”

In 2009, Paul decided to engage E&A’s managed services team led by Ken Litaker in order to implement the Pro Recovery backup and disaster recovery solution.  “Ken installed a network attached storage (NAS) device to securely backup our data offsite,” said Paul. “The NAS has saved me from having to stuff a big duffel bag full with our daily backup tapes!  Although we’ve only had to recover and restore our data a couple times it’s sure been nice to know that our data is protected.”  

Paul recalled several instances when Pro Recovery’s 24x7x365 monitoring services helped to stave off potentially disruptive events. “We lost a drive in the e-wms server and E&A called us up before we had even realized there was a problem so that we could repair it. That was great!” enthused Paul. “And when our Microsoft Exchange server started to fill up, Ken was alerted by the network operations center about the issue before we had experienced any major problems. Ken phoned in to explain what was happening and discussed our options. We gave him permission to make the necessary repairs.  From start to finish the fix only took about a half hour but it staved off the possibility of a much more costly systems crash,” he emphasized.

Paxton Company Sails Into the Future

Paxton Company is currently partnering with E&A to upgrade to the latest 7.7 version of Infor Distribution Express. The installation will include the UnForm Document Archiving & Management module, a powerful document management tool that is expected to save Paxton Company countless labor hours while improving service to customers.

“We generate a lot of paper!” confirmed Sue Halstead, accounting manager at Paxton Company.  “We have a very large customer base that generates hundreds of invoices and proof of delivery tickets on a daily basis.” Sue explained that Paxton Company will use UnForm’s imaging features to capture these kinds of important paper documents and store them in a searchable database, thereby improving productivity and eliminating errors associated with manual filing systems. UnForm will also enable rapid, enterprise-wide access to information whenever it is needed, such as in the event of a customer request to prove the receipt of an order.

As Paxton Company sails into the future, Peggy shared her thoughts on why it is important for her company to partner with E&A and use technology to its advantage. “I recently drove past a popular video rental chain store that’s in process of closing its doors.  They are a lesson in what happens when you are too slow to adapt to changes in technology. The video store has become obsolete because nowadays most people can rent movies using their Internet connections,” observed Peggy. “I don’t want anything like that to happen to us!  I plan to work with E&A to make sure that Paxton Company stays in the forefront. I want our company to use technology wisely and stay one step ahead of the competition.”

To learn more about Paxton Company, go to www.paxtonco.com.