Sydney-based Micron Alarms is a leading supplier of electronic security equipment. The company distributes products from the best manufacturers in the intrusion detection, alarm system, CCTV, security keypad and home technology industries.

Micron was relying on a legacy financial management system to perform basic accounting functions. However, the system had no inventory management, stock control, landed cost or warehouse management capabilities. The system was also unable to handle kit disassembly. A large proportion of products ordered by Micron come in the form of kits. If they are not later sold as complete kits to Micron’s customers they are disassembled and sold as individual components. Micron recognised it could benefit from a solution that could automate the kit disassembly process.

After researching options, Simon Jabour, Director of Micron Alarms, asked for a Jiwa demonstration – and was immediately impressed by its comprehensive and easy-to-use functionality.

   

Since the July 2014 deployment (with installation by Austlink Plus, a Jiwa business partner), Jiwa has produced a number of improvements in Micron’s day-to-day operation and management.

For Micron, the guesswork has been taken out of inventory management, with all product and pricing quotes generated through Jiwa and emailed to customers. This process reduces errors from verbal quotes that could lead to disputes.

Customised plug-ins improve efficiency and functionality. These included a plug-in that enables the embedding of company messaging in Micron’s email message, customisation of the Jiwa interface so certain people did not see screens and fields not relevant to them, and global search functionality. Austlink also arranged for employees’ most commonly used screens to be loaded automatically. Notes Simon, “Another useful add-on automatically disassembles, at the receipt stage, product kits that we’ve ordered from suppliers. This not only saves time but also enables us to be more accurate in the allocation and tracking of kit equipment.”

Said Simon, “While we knew early on that Jiwa would meet our needs on a number of levels, it wasn’t until the solution was fully installed that we began to realise the full range of benefits it could bring to our company. From sales through to inventory management, accounts, purchasing and reporting, Jiwa has brought our company into the 21st century, and we experience the benefits of that every day.

“Austlink have helped us become more efficient and productive.”

   

Micron intends to expand its use of the Jiwa solution, in particular, Jiwa’s Business Intelligence (BI) module, but also, the Jiwa Service Manager module to manage operations more effectively.