KARSAY COFFEE

Karsay Coffee Distributors is a corporate coffee distributor headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. The company sought to improve the speed at which it was fulfilling orders and to eliminate the routine errors that were an inevitable result of its largely manual warehouse system. To lead this initiative, Karsay Coffee Distributors turned to ADSS Global, a Sage Accpac ERP national partner, and specialists in business management solutions.  

THE DAILY GRIND 

George Kassai, managing partner for ADSS Global’s Manhattan and Edison offices, performed an initial comprehensive operations review for Karsay Coffee. While the company’s Sage Accpac ERP software application delivered an efficient order entry system, Kassai recalls that the picking, packing, and shipping procedures in the company warehouse lacked the benefits of automation. “The mundane task of pulling up each order after picking to create shipments was labour-intensive and resulted in a backlog. The employees were not working as efficiently as they  could because all order fulfillment was processed manually, and in some cases, inaccurately. It often required extra work by the warehouse and clerical staff to complete and correct orders.” 

INVEST IN TECHNLOGY  

ADSS Global recommended that Karsay Coffee invest in ACCU-DART, a real-time warehouse and inventory management solution designed to integrate directly with Sage Accpac ERP. The application utilizes radio-frequency scanners, ensuring that inventory transactions are processed quickly and accurately, every single time. ADSS Global demonstrated how warehouse automation tools like ACCU-DART could greatly improve efficiency throughout the organization, from the warehouse and shop floor to the accounting and administrative offices. 

↳ CHALLENGE 

Karsay Coffee Distributors was challenged by a manual shipping and manifesting system that resulted in frequent errors and jeopardized the company’s reputation for great customer service. 

↳ SOLUTION 

ADSS Global implemented warehouse management and freight manifesting solutions for Karsay Coffee. 

↳ RESULTS 

Shipping accuracy is at 100%. The time it takes to invoice an order, and the time to ship an order were both cut in half. Labor savings are estimated at three hours per day. 

ACCURATE DATA IN REAL TIME 

ADSS Global worked with Karsay Coffee to deploy radio-frequency scanners and bar code technology throughout its warehouse. This allows the warehouse staff to instantly update the accounting system, ensuring that all users throughout the organization have the most up-to-todate information.  

Since ACCU-DART validates data in real-time, it eliminates routine data entry errors. As an order is shipped, warehouse staff simply scans the barcode for each item and follows the simple prompts on the handheld scanners. The software verifies that the correct item is being shipped to the correct customer. 

In addition to streamlining shipping and invoicing, Karsay Coffee utilizes bar code technology to streamline purchase order receiving, warehouse transfers, physical counts, serial/lot control, and more. ADSS Global also introduced Karsay Coffee to Starship, a freight manifesting solution that also integrates with Sage Accpac ERP. Starship calculates shipping charges electronically, further streamlining operations. 

100 PERCENT SHIPPING ACCURACY 

As a result of the changes, warehouse operations at Karsay Coffee have greatly improved. Issues with shipment accuracy have practically been eliminated. The correct items are being shipped for each order and shipments are posted to the accounting software in real-time — ensuring inventory accuracy and eliminating the need to manually create invoices. Karsay Coffee’s management team knew that their investment in technology would result in money and time savings, but they had no specific benchmark to meet. However, the final results proved to be beyond all expectations. “Shipping accuracy improved to 100 percent, and inventory is accurately released with each shipment,” says Kassai. “The company is saving two to three hours of work each day thanks to the efforts of ADSS Global.”  

SHIPPING AND INVOICING TIME SLASHED BY 50 PERCENT 

The streamlined picking and packing process has slashed the time it takes to pick, pack and ship an order by 50 percent. Previously, it required one full-time position to enter and invoice orders. As a result of the efficiencies of the new system, this clerical effort has been reduced by 50 percent, freeing time for more strategic tasks. 

MEASURABLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT

The payoff for Karsay Coffee comes from the measurable direct saving in labor costs, and in the less tangible, but no less important improvements in customer satisfaction and improved inventory accuracy. Kassai sums up the benefits he sees Karsay Coffee enjoying, “Karsay Coffee is extremely satisfied with the return on investment resulting from this project. In addition to time and money savings, the employees are happier in their jobs, since much of the routine and redundant work has been eliminated.”