“I don’t even remember what the software was called, but what we had was totally archaic,” Cobb said. “What I do remember is that it was very rigid. If I was printing invoices, no one could enter sales orders or even look at a customer file because they would be locked out.
Since one of the company’s sales reps was working with a vendor that was upgrading to the Rover Data system, Rapid asked for a consultation as well. “That was 15 years ago, and we’ve been with them ever since,” Cobb said.
The Rover ERP Solution is designed to solve all of the issues that a manufacturer has, including inventory, shipments, machines and personnel. But it’s the system’s ease of use that most impresses Melanie Cobb. “When I’m doing sales tax audits or anything of that nature, it’s very easy to find the information. If I have a customer on the phone that wants to know about a charge, I can look it up by part number or by purchase order. There are so many different variables we can use to get that information.
“We have some huge customers that have much bigger systems, and it doesn’t seem like they’re able to operate as efficiently as we do with Rover ERP,” Cobb has observed.
Through regular additions and upgrades, Rover ERP is much different today than it was 15 years ago, but Rover’s customer service has never changed, according to Cobb. “The real diamond is if we need something, Rover Data is always available to talk us through what we want to do, or they’ll come out. Either way they always have a solution for us. I’m not very technical, but when they explain something, I can understand what they’re saying without having the IT manager explain it to me.”
Rover ERP’s user-friendliness is also important when it comes to training new employees. Says Cobb, “I don’t have to worry about anyone losing any information, or deleting something they shouldn’t, because we can control that through the system.”
Rover ERP also includes a very powerful workflow capability that allows managers to set up actions that can be triggered by certain events so they can automate the notification of problems in production or shipping. This has been critical in the daily operations at Rapid, a company with three different manufacturing locations and three different pricing structures.
“It would be very easy for us to lose a lot of money if the wrong prices are put in from any location. Fortunately, we have safeguards set up by customer number or the location where each part is being built, so an employee can’t enter the wrong price,” Cobb said.
“It’s just another way that Rover Data has been a great partner.”
