Struggling with Delays, Disconnected Systems, and Missed Sales? Here's How Eastman Tire Supplies Fixed It with AdCirrus ERP and Acumatica

Eastmen Tire had been using Microsoft Dynamics GP since 1999, but the solution could no longer meet their needs, especially for advanced mobile requirements. Their technicians service clients in areas with limited internet connectivity, so an app that worked offline and synchronized data when reconnected was a key requirement.

Furthermore, while they carry a large array of products in inventory, they also sell items that are considered non-stock. Their system was not able to accurately track these items, so they were missing out on valuable business insights.
Since they have a broad product offering, some of their equipment and supplies come from overseas. Tracking and allocating landed costs, such as taxes, freight, and import fees, was accomplished through a time-consuming spreadsheet-based workaround.

The company likes to stay ahead of the technology curve, so as they became aware of the uncertainty surrounding Dynamics GP, they decided it was time to search for a solution with a brighter future and the functionality they needed.

After a lengthy examination of several solutions, Eastmen Tire decided that Acumatica was the best fit for their needs since it came with out-of-the-box functionality that alleviated many of their pain points.

 
A Google search led them to AdCirrus ERP. Kimberly Strobel, Office Manager at Eastmen Tire, recalls, “On the first discovery call, Nirav really listened to us to understand our needs. He took the initiative to evaluate add-on solutions until he found one he felt would be the right fit for our offline mobile needs. Then he came to us and asked what we thought of it. We felt he truly respected us as clients!”

Now, with the right system and the right partner selected, they could move forward with confidence.

Mobile app empowers sales staff in the field. “The mobile solution integrates with Acumatica so seamlessly you don’t even realize they’re two different products,” Kim happily relates. “Whether the guys in the field are online or offline, it just works. Now, they can concentrate on what they do best: selling. That’s what we wanted.”

Powerful, flexible reporting and data visualization. Kim says, “Acumatica’s General Inquiries allow us to customize the view of our data, whether it’s just the sorting order or filtering it any way we need it for our internal processes – even allowing us to export the results to Excel. It’s so customizable, and that wasn’t possible for us in Dynamics GP.”

Integrated shipping with rate shopping. Previously, their shipping platforms were separate applications with no connection to their ERP, but now that’s changed. “With AdCirrus’ help, Acumatica is now directly integrated with UPS and FedEx, including our negotiated shipping rates. Now, we don’t have to bounce back and forth between systems. Also, we can now quickly compare prices between providers to ensure the lowest rate every time.” Dave Harrington, President of Eastmen Tire Services, adds, “We’ve recently started carrying less on our trucks and shipping more products directly. As a result, we’re shipping more than we ever have, and it is working smoothly.”

Non-stock inventory tracking. “Previously, we had no idea how many of a certain non-stocked product had been sold over time. Now we track everything, and we have accurate data to make better business decisions about the profitability of these items,” Kim states.

Streamlined payment processing. Payment processing has historically been a bottleneck for the team at Eastmen. They relied on point-of-sale terminals and a separate application for credit card, e-check, and ACH processing. The resulting payment details had to be manually entered into Dynamics GP. Kim shares, “Now the whole process happens in Acumatica. You enter payment details and quickly receive either an approval or a decline – and you’re done! The receipt is right there, ready to print or email to the customer. The process takes a quarter of the time it used to, which is huge for us.”

Automated landed cost allocation. What about their “clunky” spreadsheet workaround? Kim explains, “Tracking landed costs in Acumatica is very easy. What used to take me a couple of hours has now been reduced to about 15 minutes of work.”

Additional benefits. Eastmen Tire has seen major productivity boosts in other areas too. End-of-month statements can be produced in 1 to 2 days instead of the 3 to 5 days they previously took. Invoice processing and bank deposit preparation times are down 50%, preparing them for future growth.

Stellar support at an affordable price. As mentioned, AdCirrus went the extra mile to find their client’s ideal mobile solution. What else showed their commitment to customer service? Kim relates, “AdCirrus gave us a very generous allotment of services with the initial package. We felt free to ask for whatever we needed via email without fear of being nickeled and dimed. That meant a lot to us as a small business.”

Took time to understand requirements upfront. Dave recalls, “Nirav asked a lot of questions, not only of our office staff but also our team on the road. He wanted to know what they liked and didn’t like about our existing system to identify weak spots and what needed to be fixed going forward.”

Fast and responsive issue resolution. “Whenever an issue has arisen, Nirav and his crew would get right to work. Within a short time, the system was improved to function the way we wanted it to. No doubt other things will come up in the next few months, but we have confidence that AdCirrus will handle it quickly and with a favorable outcome,” Dave remarked.