Enhanced customer service, flexibility, accuracy put dental supplier on growth curve

Denver-based Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO) was ready for the enterprise system of the future. Not only did it want to save time, reduce administrative tasks, and improve accuracy, but it was looking to enhance the entire sales experience for the customer as well.

Customer service is the top priority for any salesperson, and RMO reps are no different: They focus on client needs and improving their relationships with them.

Rocky Mountain—which makes orthodontic supplies, equipment, and instruments—plans to get closer to its customers by updating its antiquated control-based enterprise system, which performs sales, purchasing, distribution, and financial functions such as managing a 9,000-part catalog, tracking costs, and entering orders.

"We are manufacturing-focused and lack some of the finer sales skills because we don't have the best tools," says Mary Anne Wingert, VP of IT and finance. "It's not that we don't have the data we need—we just need a means to have it at our fingertips. We want to serve our customers with a system that can grow with us."

The company chose Junction Solutions' JunctionMCRT, a multi-channel ERP system built on a Microsoft Dynamics AX platform that includes demand planning, job scheduling, shop-floor management, and product configuration. Distribution features include warehouse management, order handling, order promising, and lot-number tracking.

RMO began the Junction Solutions implementation process four months ago, with expectations to be completely up and running by March 2007. Says Wingert, "Everyone will use the entire system from day one."

JunctionMCRT will allow users to view inventory, customer history, balances, and profiles; and take orders directly from their laptops via a Web portal. Many orders involve standard parts and reorders, although custom orders can be taken.

"Previously customers had to phone in, email, or fax their orders to our customer support team," says Wingert. "With the new system, users have access to an array of customer data, including past due balances and previous orders. They can set up and run reports exactly the way they want to view them."

Junction Solutions' systems are based on traditional ERP functionality, but are built to fit specific sub-vertical industries within manufacturing & distribution, retail, and food & beverage. The applications are geared to midsize and large companies in the $100-million to $1-billion range.

"We extend beyond normal system functionality—for example, with distribution—by including features that handle smaller quantities," says Brian Carpizo, Junction Solutions CEO and cofounder. "The system works well in a busy warehouse that picks, packs, and ships smaller orders that also may need shipping capabilities such as Fed Ex."

Carpizo and other veterans of the ERP industry teamed with IT consultants to form Junction Solutions four years ago. During the shakeout of the technology sector in 2001-2002, Carpizo banked on Microsoft's staying power—particularly after the company acquired Navision Software.

"We believed in Microsoft's vision and ability to scale innovative technologies across millions of businesses," says Carpizo. "ERP was the best avenue for creating opportunities, and customers wanted industry-focused solutions out of the box."

Microsoft Dynamics AX uses only one business logic, one source code, one database, and one toolbox. Most users opt for Dynamics AX Object Server (AOS) to harness the power of a distributed, three-tier system. The AOS is located between the client and the database, which means users access the AOS—not the database—directly. AOS technology minimizes server hardware costs and communication requirements to increase performance, stability, and scalability.