“Going to the single system has saved us time and accuracy”
Tim Smith, Group Financial Accountant
EverEdge SAP Business One Case Study
The background
Everedge is a family-owned company established in 1995, they have grown to become a leading provider of steel garden edging solutions. EverEdge has significantly increased its portfolio in the subsequent years to include bespoke durable garden planters, podium planter systems, wall claddings and a comprehensive range of edgings for professionals. As a result, EverEdge has expanded globally with customers throughout
Europe, North America and Australasia. Prior to the implementation of SAP Business One, they were utilising a combination of systems to manage their system processes.
As a multi-faceted organisation consisting of six different businesses, Everedge recognised the need for a more integrated and adaptable solution to manage its diverse operations effectively.
Choosing SAP Business One and APH Solutions
The decision to transition to SAP Business One stemmed from Tim Smith’s prior experience with the software at a previous company. He was captivated by its user-friendly interface and its adaptability,
allowing for easy modifications like adding or altering fields. The comprehensive, all-in-one approach of SAP Business One, encompassing core functionalities such as CRM without the necessity for extensive
integrations, further solidified the decision.
The choice to collaborate with APH was driven by Tim Smith’s existing rapport with the company. He had a strong relationship with the directors at APH and felt that their expertise aligned perfectly with EverEdge’s
needs, making it the right level of support for the transition.
The flexibility offered by SAP Business One and APH was a crucial differentiator. Tim Smith noted that other systems demanded rigid adherence to preset methodologies, restricting adaptability. However, SAP
Business One provided the flexibility EverEdge needed to tailor the system to its unique business processes.
“It’s a single point of contact for everything, for any interaction with the customer” – Tim Smith (Group Financial Accountant)
The On-boarding Process
The implementation process began in early 2022 with a targeted go-live date set for early November 2022. However, to ensure the system was ready to meet the requirements of the business, the decision was taken to delay the go-live until February 1, 2023.
Despite the delayed go-live, Tim Smith is pleased with the expertise of APH support staff in handling SAP Business One. A few months after the implementation, Everedge staff found the system more intuitive and made specific changes, such as adjustments to streamline processes for handling the influx of new customers.
Codeless Platforms
One of the pivotal successes of the implementation was the seamless integration with Codeless Platforms, providing Everedge with Website Integration and Logistics Integration.
Integration with WooCommerce
As well as moving to SAP Business One, EverEdge also created a new website, built on WooCommerce. As a result, BPA Platform was installed to integrate SAP Business One with WooCommerce, and then automate the inputting of sales orders from the website into SAP Business One. Plans are underway to add delivery validation for various order types.
“We have sales orders coming in from our website and they get uploaded into SAP Business One without any issue. The current website integration just works and the timing of the upload has been improved. This is very helpful as we are definitely getting more orders coming in via the new website. With the old website customers were limited to what they could order, whereas with the new website they can order everything,” explained Tim Smith
Logistics Integration
API integration with DHL for logistics, which worked efficiently from the outset. Another major aspect of the business that EverEdge wanted better control of was its logistics – specifically delivery management and the shipping of exports. BPA Platform was therefore used to integrate SAP Business One with DHL and to automate the uploading of delivery information.
“We actually have two separate businesses, one for the UK and one for exports, which is EverEdge Ltd. There are about twenty agents worldwide and we usually have one order a day from them. We have set up an automated process that creates a back to back purchase order once a sales order has been entered into EverEdge Ltd. This is due to the fact that when an order comes into EverEdge Ltd. it purchases everything from the UK company and then sells it on to the export customer. The process therefore creates a back to back purchase order which then connects a back to back sales order in the UK business. Automating that process saves a lot of time re-entering information,” said Tim Smith.
“Setting up the integration between SAP Business One and the DHL API was very straightforward. During peak time, we could have three pallets a day of individual orders going out, with each order consisting of potentially two or three packs. Therefore it could be 200 orders a day shipping out via DHL. Making sure that works and is as efficient as possible is paramount.”
With SAP Business One now fully up and running and EverEdge having better insight into its operations, the company can now concentrate on developing other aspects of the business.
“I’m surprised at how much more you can do with BPA Platform. We’ll be using it for a few more projects. For example, we are trialling a new pallet provider, Palletline, so we also need a connection to that. Palletline has an API, so that should be fairly straightforward. We are also looking at creating a solution to automatically send out a sales brochure or a credit account application form to a customer – setting up a predefined activity to send out the email,” concluded Tim Smith.
Benefits for EverEdge
The adoption of SAP Business One, complemented by APH, has brought about substantial benefits for EverEdge:
- The all-in-one system has greatly enhanced customer interactions by allowing swift access to order history and facilitating product recommendations based on past orders.
- Tim Smith highlighted that the system serves as a singular point of contact has improved the overall engagement with customers.
- Everedge has experienced significant operational efficiencies with documents scanned or attached within the system, simplifying access to relevant files.
- Detailed information about orders on pallets has significantly improved export operations by facilitating better labelling, especially in light of Brexit dispatches.
- Overall, the shift to a unified system has resulted in time savings and increased accuracy in operations.
Conclusion
Implementing SAP Business One by APH has empowered EverEdge to streamline its operations, bolster customer service, and enhance overall efficiency.
Despite some initial hurdles during implementation, the transition has proven to be a pivotal investment, positioning EverEdge for sustained growth and success in it’s competitive industry. The adaptability,
comprehensive functionalities, and robust support from APH has collectively contributed to EverEdge’s ability to meet the demands of a dynamic and growing business landscape.
