Priding itself on unparalleled service, Georgia-based Mid-State Lumber has grown significantly since its founding in 1976, adding multiple locations and expanding into new territories. As their operation grew, the company knew it needed to deliver the same service quality, so in 2005, they implemented Agility.
Agility inventory and accounting software allowed Mid-State Lumber to maintain accuracy, efficiency, and quality of service as they scaled up their operations. Designed for the building materials industry, Agility contains features tailored to the unique needs of businesses such as Mid-State Lumber. It centralizes key business processes so sales, accounting, purchasing and dispatch transactions are created and managed from one place. Any changes made in Agility happen in real time and are reflected across the entire system. This is critical for companies like Mid-State Lumber where purchasing, sales, and dispatch may operate from separate branches.
“I have worked in every department in the company, and I find that Agility is helpful in every area,” said Maria Hall, Mid-State Lumber’s primary system manager. “Anything that you want to do from quoting, automated processing, reporting, to viewers…Agility does it all.”
Agility allows Mid-State Lumber’s departments to coordinate effectively. Because Agility provides real-time data, everyone sees current information. There’s no need for departments to update each other over the phone or email.
“If I change anything, the sales agents and the shipping department see it right away,” said Hall. “If I get a call telling me a customer won’t be ready for their order until next Wednesday, I can just open my viewer, change the day and the shipping department automatically sees that it’s done.”
Real-time data makes it easier for the Mid-State Lumber team to provide excellent service. Employees in every area of operation know information in Agility is current and accurate. There’s no need to double-check that a product is available before placing an order or scheduling a delivery.
“You can be confident in what you are looking at,” said Hall. “If you see that you have 8,044 feet of item A, that’s what’s in the warehouse. The same thing in accounts receivable.”
Real Time
Agility allows Mid-State Lumber to be extremely responsive to customers’ needs. Credit manager Anita Toupin appreciates that results are instant.
“As soon as a guy enters an order, I have receivables change. If a customer is past due and on credit hold, as soon as we get checks and apply them, it frees up their account.”
Agility has also helped reduce the paper trail common in many offices. Agility’s reports and queries pull up all the data she needs in one screen. For instance, she can run a report to find all invoices past due by a certain number of days. Or she can use the A/R Credit Details screen to view an account’s credit information across all branches.
“They have come up with a lot of new things for us that have helped us keep our receivables in a good standing,” says Toupin. “I’ve been with the company for 30 years. We used to work off a weekly aging report, posting by hand, blue sheets, etc. Now, it’s simplified. The mounds of paperwork we had are gone. We have come a long, long way.”
The DMSi team worked closely with Mid-State Lumber and developed solid relationships with their counterparts. As a veteran employee of a service-based company, Toupin is keenly aware of the impact those relationships can have: “DMSi is like a family. It really is. They treat their customers the same way, and that’s a positive thing.”