Celluphone

National Wireless Phone Distributor Streamlines Operations with Flexible ERP Solution

Celluphone, a leading wireless phone distributor based in Los Angeles, California, was experiencing growing pains with its financial and warehouse systems. These systems were not integrated and lacked the functionality to adequately support the company’s multicompany business model. Recognizing that its systems could not scale to meet growth goals, the company opted to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX. Celluphone integrated the Microsoft Dynamics AX solution with its current inventory management infrastructure. With a fully integrated, highly flexible business management system and built-in multicompany support, Celluphone has increased efficiency in its warehouse operations by 50 percent, achieved total operational growth of nearly 40 percent, and improved customer and dealer service.

Situation

Founded in 1983, Los Angeles, California–based Celluphone is one of the largest wireless distributor companies in the United States. Celluphone provides services and products for independent wireless phone retailers. As a wholesaler, Celluphone strives to be a one-stop company where its retailers can get all the services and products that they need to run their own stores.

Previously, Celluphone was operating several systems that were not able to support its growing business. There was a separate system for its inventory management and order processing, from which employees had to manually enter batch imports into the company’s financial system to keep track of transactions. Celluphone’s business management system kept financial information in order, but did not support specific functions that the company needed, such as cost averaging and multiple company support. This system also did not integrate with the inventory management system. This lack of integration was a huge problem as Celluphone’s business volume kept increasing. “Breaking down information from one system to make it suitable to import into another was just not effective,” says Rick Matson, Director of Information Technology at Celluphone.

Celluphone leaders recognized the need for a single, fully integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to keep pace with its evolving and increasingly sophisticated business model.

Solution

Celluphone opted to install Microsoft Dynamics AX based on its comprehensive feature set and its renowned flexibility. The company also placed a tremendous amount of value on access to a clear road map for the solution.

Says Matson, “We knew the path that Microsoft was taking with Microsoft Dynamics AX, and we knew that with future releases, we could modify it in the Microsoft .NET Framework environment.”

Implementation

Once Celluphone executives decided that Microsoft Dynamics AX was the best fit for the company.

Celluphone implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX and the following functionalities:

• General Ledger
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Bank Reconciliation
• Inventory Management

Linking Financial and Supply-Chain Information

Integrating company financials with warehouse transactions was critical in enabling Celluphone to gain real-time visibility into its operations.

Now, because all invoice, sales, payment, and inventory information are linked in a single database, company leaders have clear visibility into the entire sales life cycle. When any supply-chain activity is completed, such as the sale of a product or the receipt of a shipment, the transaction is automatically recorded in Microsoft Dynamics AX. This lets Celluphone closely monitor inventory levels and make adjustments as needed based on current sales information.

Furthermore, by consolidating its operations on a single, end-to-end ERP system, the company can better manage rebates. This includes rebates offered by manufacturers and retailers, as well as those issued directly from Celluphone. The company’s former system was equipped to automatically process rebates, but employees still needed to make manual adjustments to inventory and accounting records. Now, the system automatically retrieves specific rebate files, applies them to the correct sales orders, and then records the appropriate updates in the accounting and inventory subsystems.

Automating Warehouse and Shipping Functions

In addition, Celluphone has used functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX to automate shipping and warehouse processes. Whenever an order is created in the system, the customer automatically receives real-time shipping rates. After the order is confirmed, the shipping option is associated with the order in the warehouse. A request is then generated in the system and automatically transmitted to the appropriate shipping vendor, which sends a response containing all relevant shipping information from which labels can be easily printed.

In addition, Celluphone has modified warehouse management functionality in the solution, enabling the system to automatically record product serial numbers imported directly from handheld RFID devices. This makes it easier for warehouse employees to quickly scan items, including products with multiple components, rather than manually entering serial numbers into one system and then transferring this information to a separate system.

Benefits

With its new solution, Celluphone has substantially increased the efficiency of its warehouse operations while improving service to dealers and customers.

• Increased Efficiency by 50 Percent
  Without the need to manually reconcile sales, inventory, and shipping records across various non-integrated systems, warehouse staff are able to save considerable time each day. Using scanning devices that are directly linked to the business system has further enhanced their productivity. By automating critical warehouse functions, Celluphone requires 50 percent fewer resources to process and ship the same order volume.

• Enhanced Dealer and Customer Service
  Now that Celluphone can track information across its operations in a single, easy-to-use system, dealer and customer relations management personnel can respond more quickly to requests and provide additional services and support. Dealers recognize the value in contracting with Celluphone to manage rebates because the company handles this process so efficiently. “The ability to manage rebates for dealers by using a single system enables us to deliver more effectively on our value proposition as a full-service provider.” And, with access to a complete view of customer information, including transaction history and rebate status, customer service agents can reduce call handle times, resolving issues faster while also capitalizing on appropriate upsell opportunities.

• Realized 40 Percent Growth in Operations
  By taking advantage of the flexibility and scalability of the solution, Celluphone has been able to expand its business-to-business operations and build out its e-commerce sites. “Microsoft Dynamics AX has given us the platform to build real-time e-commerce sites that I wouldn’t have been able to do with the separate pieces of our previous system,” Matson says. Celluphone has already built 10 such e-commerce sites, including consumer sites, such as handsfree.com. In addition, Celluphone is evaluating using the solution to expand its business in other ways, including operating as a full-service partner with large corporations. Since deploying the solution, Celluphone has expanded from 8 to 11 subsidiary businesses.