QUICKFACTS

THE SUCCESS STORY

ABOUT STAUB

Established in 1981, Staub has become the trusted distribution partner for home theater and mobile electronic equipment to Canada’s major electronics retail chains, specialty retailers, and custom integrators. Known as the “installer’s choice,” Staub specializes in installer friendly, solution-oriented electronic products.

LEGACY SOFTWARE LIMITATIONS

Staub Electronics Ltd., one of Canada’s premier distributors of consumer electronics, was frustrated by the limitations of its legacy business software. Moving to the SAP Business One application enabled Staub to automate many manual operations, thereby improving customer service while saving labor, implementing e-commerce, and transparent warehouse management for the first time. “We are head and shoulders above where we were,” says Scott Trotter, Staub’s vice president of sales and operations.

The legacy business software that Staub was using imposed many limitations on the business. Manual operations prevailed throughout the firm, firm, especially in the warehouses, which are crucial for this distribution company. The company wanted to provide better service to its customers but found difficulty with all the labor-intensive steps involved in acknowledging orders, preparing invoices, and issuing advance shipment notifications (ASNs). Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a mandatory element in doing business with large chains that Staub works with, and their legacy system was rudimentary and labor intensive.

Staub previously attempted to automate its warehouses, but they faced many software obstacles and eventually gave up on this project. This effort, however, proved to be an important catalyst for improvement. “We desperately needed to manage inventories better, and so we started looking for a third-party warehouse management package we could bolt on to our legacy software,” explains Trotter.

GOLD CERTIFIED THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS

Staub spoke with an SAP channel partner that presented SAP Business One. “We always had the impression that SAP software is for Fortune 500–type companies, but they showed us how wrong we were,” says Trotter.

The SAP partner ecosystem was an especially important factor in deciding on SAP Business One, as Trotter explains: “A big reason why we didn’t succeed previously on e-commerce or warehouse management was that the software vendors we engaged were too loosely connected to our legacy provider, resulting in incompatibility between applications. With SAP it is totally different because of its certification program. We
selected mainly gold-level partners, which gave us confidence the applications were vetted for compatibility with SAP.”

For Staub’s much-needed inventory management solution, the company chose LISA DWMS from N’ware Technologies. LISA WMS is a warehouse management system providing bin locations and detailed warehouse management functionality, using wireless terminals and portable label printers.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Successful as it has been, Staub is continuing to pursue further process improvements utilizing the robust functionality of SAP software. Next, it will automate SKU setup, a process that oversees the incorporation of new products into its line. In another project, the company is planning to extend the reach of SAP Business One to include the remote devices of its many salespeople.

“SAP Business One and LISA WMS have without question been an incredible success for Staub and a major competitive advantage for our business,” concludes Trotter. “Sometimes I am concerned that our competition will catch on to our formula for success, but then I realize that it doesn’t matter. We have such a head start with Business One and LISA WMS, and we are moving so fast to take even further advantage of it, we’ll remain a step ahead.”

Contact us to discuss your specific business challenges or learn more about our WMS solution for SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign.