Company: Fond du Lac Reservation

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation lies in Northeastern Minnesota adjacent to the city of Cloquet, MN, approximately 20 miles west of Duluth, MN. The Fond du Lac Reservation, established by the LaPointe Treaty of 1854, is one of six Reservations inhabited by members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The Chippewa nation is the second largest ethnic group of Indians in the United States. The Fond du Lac Reservation has many operations they control including casinos, transit authorities, golf courses, grocery stores, and schools.

FOND DU LAC ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES:
The Fond du Lac Reservation used multiple disparate, non-integrated systems to carry out its Financial and HR/Payroll activities. With each operation in the Reservation using a different database, departments had to enter and keep duplicate records across the organization. Finding the accurate data from different systems was unproductive and time consuming. Both the hardware and software used to support the processes were outdated, and further maintenance of these systems was risky and potentially costly. The old system was redundant, not easily accessible, slow, costly to maintain, inefficient, not upgradeable, segmented, lacking security, and unable to handle current growth. Fond du Lac needed a comprehensive, integrated solution to meet their needs not only for today, but for many years to come.

The problem to be solved was to implement an integrated set of finance and human resource applications that met the requirements of Fond du Lac, while not exceeding the project budget. Managers and employees needed access to timely, accurate data in sufficient detail to make informed decisions. Fond du Lac had a few objectives for this project including:


- Having an integrated systems that will centralize and standardize business.
- Having a web-based systems for all organizations to use.
- Having a standardized chart of accounts.
- Having the ability to issue checks quickly and accurately.

THE AMX/ORACLE SOLUTION:
Fond du Lac decided to go with Oracle’s JD Edwards application based on the numerous benefits it offered over the competition. The accounting department was better able to give manager/directors the financial information needed for their operations and decision making. The ease of downloading information into Excel spreadsheets with drill downs into departmental information helped increase productivity across all system users. The ability to add system users without a per user charge is another benefit. The JD Edwards software allows Fond du Lac to operate more efficiently by integrating payroll to eliminate manual entries, faster end-ofmonths, easier budgeting processes and better tracking between programs and enterprises.

After deciding to use AMX International for the implementation, AMX consultants quickly went to work, first on Program Accounting and later on Enterprise Accounting and HR/Payroll. AMX offered Fond du Lac Technical/CNC services, XML Publisher Form development, Project Management Services, and application customizations as well as Financial and HR/Payroll consulting. They were able to finish all projects on time and under budget.

With their new JD Edwards application, Fond du Lac now has improved reporting capabilities that are user-produced without having to rely on the technical department to support their needs. More empowered end-users can now spread the workload evenly and give each other the ability to interact with the software on a daily basis. Online approvals, fewer forms and online training eliminates excess paper resulting in more organization and cost-savings.

“Overall the project went very well. We are completely satisfied with JD Edwards and that it met all of our objectives. Duplication of entry is gone, JD Edwards is up-to-date, automated and fast. We are producing checks on demand when before it was a long drawn out process. In the end, we are saving a lot of time,” says Jennifer Borkholder, Program Accounting Director of Fond du Lac.

Company: Schurman Fine Papers

Schurman Fine Papers’ implementation of JD Edwards is providing the company with greater IT functionality, decreased labor costs and the capability for future enhancements to their Supply Chain Management System.

Organization Profile: A dynamic company moving forward as a worldwide leader in the sales and distribution of social expression products

From its foundation as a greeting card importer and publisher, Schurman Fine Papers has evolved into a highly creative force and an innovative design house. The company designs and publishes a comprehensive range of quality social expression products to thousands of customers throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, the company operates retail stores called Papyrus, which are universally admired for their bright, sophisticated look and for an outstanding merchandise mix.

Industry Challenges: Maintaining successful business operations despite rapid growth and an inefficient management system

In recent years, Schurman Fine Papers has experienced outstanding growth and advancement within the distribution vertical market. The company’s growth in personnel and business processes was so rapid they outgrew their existing custom PC-based business system. As a result, Schurman Fine Papers attempted to move all of its business functions to a client-server ERP system. However, this move resulted in a non-functional solution that did not meet the demands of their daily business processes. Problems with the system included frequent down time, a lack of data integrity, no inventory, purchasing and distribution control, and millions of dollars of lost sales. The instability of the situation soon made Schurman Fine Papers realize that they needed a working business solution if the company was ever going to operate efficiently.

The AMX Solution: Increase functionality with a value-add solution and rapid-fire implementation

Schurman Fine Papers reviewed a number of solution providers and chose JD Edwards for their software and AMX International as their implementation partner.

AMX International understood Schurman Fine Papers’ urgency for rapid implementation. Once the key aspects of the project plan were identified, AMX stepped in and started the project. It took only six weeks before Schurman Fine Papers was live with JD Edwards' financial module. Over the next few months AMX implemented other applications including distribution, inventory and purchasing. In addition, AMX performed financial, inventory, address book and sales order conversions, and developed a custom sales order interface still in use today.

“When it comes to rapid implementation, AMX International certainly understands how to get it done,” says Bob Jellison, Vice President of Information Services for Schurman Fine Papers. “AMX was sensitive to our aggressive time frame and accomplished the project very economically when compared to the other solutions we were considering. The project was done on budget and definitely on time.”

During the implementation, AMX and Schurman Fine Papers were partners who worked together with shared responsibilities. AMX took control of the technical areas of the project, including integrating all of the company’s existing systems into the JD Edwards solution, and oversaw all project management aspects of the implementation. This left Schurman Fine Papers’ project team with the responsibility of providing AMX with information, resources and assistance throughout the entire project.

Schurman Fine Papers needed a stable solution to increase functionality and business processes efficiently. AMX International and JD Edwards came through for them. Since implementation, and the addition of the AS/400, the company has experienced no downtime, which was not the case with their old NT server. In addition, the implementation has increased employee morale for Schurman Fine Papers’ more than 100 system users.

Quantifiable Results: A trusted solution providing opportunities for future growth and expansion

As a result of Schurman Fine Papers’ successful implementation, the company can now concentrate on making money. The company has recovered and now has a renewed confidence in their business system. In addition, the company is better positioned to manage their business operations and provide proactive company direction in the future.

“AMX has allowed us to have faith in our system. Employee morale has gone up and we are now back to the point of meeting our shipping commitments and deadlines. Our attitudes about our management system have changed dramatically and our users are very positive about the stability of our new solution. Our JD Edwards system is timely and accurate in supporting over 100 sales representatives today,” says Jellison.

The Future: On-going AMX post-implementation support, future solution enhancements and e-business strategies

AMX continues to assist Schurman Fine Papers, where needed, with post-implementation support. This support provides the company with opportunities to focus on day-to-day business processes, while AMX focuses on the overall functionality and ROI of the JD Edwards systems. Schurman Fine Papers is now looking into future enhancements to meet their ever-changing business demands and to capitalize on newfound e-business opportunities.

“Overall Schurman Fine Papers gives AMX International an A+ on our JD Edwards implementation. Both teams worked well together and provided excellent reaction time and support during the pre-project, implementation, go-live and post-go live aspects of the project. AMX has been a strong partner for Schurman Fine Papers and has gone above and beyond in every aspect of the project. We would absolutely recommend AMX to other organizations experiencing similar problems with their management system. We give them a thumbs up in all areas of the implementation,” Jellison concludes.

AMX Project Team: Experienced consultants, vertical expertise and successful implementations

AMX International provided Schurman Fine Papers with its best and brightest technical and applications consultants with extensive knowledge in project management, distribution, inventory, purchasing, financials, sales order interface, database conversions, systems integration, custom modifications and solution assurance. With high demands for success and an aggressive timeframe, the AMX project team knew this would be a very difficult and time-consuming project.

“I have never been through an implementation like this ever before or since,” says Paul Hanson, AMX International project team client manager. “We spent many sleepless nights and long hours to complete this project. We took a very compounded system and integrated it entirely into JD Edwards in a very short timeframe.”

Company: Ramey and Price Cutter Supermarkets

The decision to implement a new software solution has given Ramey/Price Cutter a competitive advantage in its vertical. The new system has increased functionality, enhanced financial management capabilities and made daily business processes more efficient.

Organization Profile: Quality Goods and Customer Service

Providing customers with quality products and service are every day goals for Ramey/Price Cutter Supermarkets. The company prides itself in offering the highest quality of goods and services in the supermarket industry in Southwest Missouri and Kansas.

Industry Challenges: Interfacing Third-Party Software Applications

In order to provide optimal support to its expanding supermarket chain, Ramey/Price Cutter required an upgrade to its JD Edwards system, including development of new interfaces and custom modifications to improve overall process efficiencies. Interfacing several third-party software applications to its JD Edwards payroll and financial solution was an implementation challenge that would require the technical expertise of an experienced JD Edwards implementation partner.

The AMX Solution: Rapid Implementation

One of the critical requirements to Ramey/Price Cutter’s payroll and financial system upgrade was to complete the project quickly to avoid loss of time and utilization of internal resources. The project included AMX International developing and implementing custom modifications, interfaces to third-party applications, database conversions, custom report writing and a specialized accounts payable interface. The AMX team was able to complete the project rapidly while simultaneously allowing Ramey/Price Cutter to maintain a high level of efficiency and functionality.

AMX Project Team: Experienced Consultants and Value-Added Results

AMX International provided Ramey/Price Cutter with a quality team of consultants who had experience and expertise in the consumer goods vertical market. Throughout the project, the AMX consultants showed their knowledge and understanding of technical consulting, applications consulting, financials, payroll, custom modifications, third-party applications interface, database conversions, custom reports and accounts payable interface. With high expectations and demands for project success, the AMX project team knew this was a very critical implementation to the overall efficiency in Ramey/Price Cutter’s daily business processes.