While continuing to specialize in interior components for new premier models as well as restored vehicles, TMI’s quick response to emerging market opportunities has provided the automotive industry with a selection of innovative high-demand products.
The company’s success has not come without some volatility, particularly in their quest for an e!ective ERP system. The system would have to answer such questions as “Do we have this product available to promise?” and “When can I promise delivery of this order?” Visibility was an issue – TMI needed to have immediate access to their production schedule and inventory status in order to relay accurate delivery promises.
After trying unsuccessfully to deploy an ERP solution from one of the “Big Five,” TMI turned to Rover Data. “They were having a lot of problems. The other ERP company’s implementation people wouldn’t agree to do things the way TMI needed them done,” said Rover Data co-founder Ron Vogel. “TMI needed a full ERP system, not just inventory control, but one where products could be configured and software could be tailored to fit their operation.”
The Rover ERP system was more than able to cope with TMI’s high volume sales operation, a necessity for a company that prides itself on quick turnaround in selling not just to end users but to large national chains such as Best Buy. Complete customer order status can now be accessed from one screen or through the Web. The company’s sales department, no longer required to waste time acquiring simple production and inventory status, has more time for selling.
“Rover ERP provides outstanding information flow from order entry and receiving into the accounting module because it’s all one system,” Vogel said. “Everyone in the company has visibility to the same data, and the ability to take an order and print it, instead of having first to run it out to another department.” Rover ERP also provides accurate order status for customer inquiries and interfaces with UPS and Federal Express so that complete shipping information is available.
Fifteen years later, Rover Data has helped to institute drastic changes in the flow of their office operation and in the methodology for how the parts they carry are defined and how the production floor is run. The Rover ERP solution system was able to adapt to these changes, in some cases, by a simple adjustment of settings and, when necessary, by Rover personnel making the changes on site. Said Ron Vogel, “Our ability to work with companies that are in the process of change, whether as a result of growth or just in the way they prefer their businesses to run, has been the underpinning of much of Rover Data’s success as a company.”
