Forney Industries Selects Blue Horseshoe's 'Warehousing for Dynamics AX' Solution to Support Triple-Digit Growth Objectives

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (Coles Marketing Communications) -- Forney Industries, one of America's longest-operating, family-owned distribution companies, has chosen Blue Horseshoe to implement extensive software solutions to support its ambitious growth objectives.

The Fort Collins, Colo., based distributor engaged Blue Horseshoe to implement its Warehousing for AX ("WAX")and Transportation for AX ("TRAX") software solutions for the two distribution centers Forney operates in Colorado and New York. Forney Industries distributes more than 4,500 products to more than 12,000 customers in the hardware retail, automotive, farm and ranch, and do-it-yourself businesses. For more than 75 years, Forney Industries has provided dealers and warehouses with metal working and welding products; abrasives and cutting wheels; air fittings, hoses and tools; industrial-quality cutting tools; hydraulic fittings, hoses and tools; wire wheels and brushes; workshop tools; steel, aluminum and chain; and safety equipment.

Blue Horseshoe's goals with its WAX solution for Forney Industries included:

• Implementing radio frequency (RF) (with voice-directed picking to follow) throughout operations to improve accuracy and increase productivity
• Reducing inventory via a more accurate and visible inventory
• Enhancing customer satisfaction through improved service levels
• Increasing visibility and flexibility across departments via a single embedded solution
• Migrating to a completely paperless operation by leveraging RF system-directed tasking within the operation, which, in addition to reducing paper consumption, will improve order throughput and maximize labor efficiency

Blue Horseshoe's WAX solution will integrate advanced supply-chain capabilities into the company's Microsoft Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and provide a real-time global view of business operations with extended functionality for Dynamics AX to accomplish warehousing and transportation tasks more easily and efficiently.

"The ultimate goal of the WAX implementation is to provide Forney Industries with an integrated and comprehensive order management, distribution and financial system," said Kevin Paul, vice president at Carmel, Ind., based BlueHorseshoe. "WAX has the features and functionality necessary to enable Forney's growth objectives, while reducing labor and increasing productivity."

"Our business goal is to double in size every five years," said Kyle Pettine, chief operations officer at Forney Industries. "We will be adding products to complement our existing portfolio and entertaining possible acquisitions. We're going to the next level. We needed a system that could keep pace. WAX and TRAX complement Dynamics AX and give us the right solution to support our growth."

"Before we purchased WAX and Dynamics AX, we had an ERP and a best-of-breed warehouse management system (WMS) that we struggled to keep in sync with one another," Pettine added. "We were dysfunctional. We needed one fully integrated and extended system to enable the flexibility, productivity and accuracy we needed — a single version of the truth became imperative."

"We chose Blue Horseshoe because of their vast experience with the supply chain and with implementing supply-chain solutions," said Rob Lakatos, purchasing manager at Forney Industries. "Blue Horseshoe was very knowledgeable, and their team's experience made the decision very easy. In addition, the implementation team Blue Horseshoe sent out here was great."

ABOUT BLUE HORSESHOE

Blue Horseshoe is a privately held solution services firm that has been providing expert management and operational consulting in conjunction with packaged software solutions to Fortune 500 and mid-market businesses throughout the world since 1983. Based in North America, Blue Horseshoe assesses business needs and applies world-class business applications to improve profitability and increase efficiency. For more about Blue Horseshoe, visit www.bhsolutions.com.

SOURCE Blue Horseshoe