Customer Testimonials
To Unibase Solutions from the National Chairman of Mica Hardware,
Lance Schaeffer,
Congratulations on the professional and accomplished manner with which you and your team have driven this project.
Peter Searra Mica Hardware National Chairman
Like many chain retailers, Super Group Automotive Division, one of South Africa's largest automotive parts dealers, owning 128 branches nationwide, experienced problems in accumulating and processing information from its nationwide branches. Distributed servers located at each of its outlets were inefficient because of the administration required in coordinating point-of-sale (POS) and supply chain functions such as sales, pricing, auto-replenishment, product redeployment and stock control.
Looking back on a long-standing relationship with Unibase Solutions, William Collins, financial director at Super Group Automotive Division, says implementing a customised solution was the first priority when considering a move to networked architecture. We didn't want any off-the-shelf solution, says Collins. Unibase Solutions provided access to a central server over a network, but with the high cost of bandwidth in mind. We looked around for a solution that could be tailored to our specific business needs, and Unibase Solutions was able to mould the product to fit our purposes.
Collins says Unibase Solutions was able to gear up to accommodate the high volumes, hardware space and bandwidth requirements in a short time period. Everything was transferred to the central server within a couple of months, and the Unibase Solutions technicians were extremely helpful. As a matter of fact, we still make use of their helpdesk on a daily basis, mostly for user information and correcting mistakes.
Super Group Automotive Division employees provided user input to the design of the new system. Unibase Solutions analysed the system we had running, assessed what we needed to do with the new system, and detailed our business process, says Collins. The networked system they delivered was therefore entirely shaped by our particular needs on a national basis. We don't pay for features we will never use.
Collins claims Super Group Automotive Division saw a return on their investment within months. The solution was developed locally and was therefore very cost-effective. Moreover, having expert technicians on hand to install and maintain the infrastructure for us was vital. We have complete visibility across our business, says Collins. The footprint of the system is national, and we depend on it now we've come to rely on the competitive edge that national, real-time reporting gives us.
Collins claims Super Group Automotive Division saw a return on their investment within months. The solution was developed locally and was therefore very cost-effective. Moreover, having expert technicians on hand to install and maintain the infrastructure for us was vital. We have complete visibility across our business, says Collins. The footprint of the system is national, and we depend on it now we've come to rely on the competitive edge that national, real-time reporting gives us.