Help4Access successfully builds a comprehensive procurement system for MagTec Alaska, spanning a set of business processes rarely addressed in integrated form by packaged applications.
MagTec Alaska is a cutting-edge provider of flameless heating equipment and Tier III generators. Based in Kenai, Alaska, the company has contributed to the oil, gas, and mining industries for more than 15 years. MagTec rents, leases, and sells specialty flameless heating equipment that provides highly efficient heat yet complies with industry emissions guidelines. For operational efficiency and to ensure that all customers received excellent service, MagTec invested in an automated system to elevate its procurement process from start to finish.
From order intake through customer retention
Magtec Alaska’s combination of business processes was unique enough to require the design and development of a custom application. The solution needed to support the entire procurement chain of activity, beginning with order intake and carrying through to customer service and retention. Additionally, the solution had to support the procurement of parts and provision of any maintenance or repair services. Per its standard practice, Help4Access set a fixed price for the project, which removed all risk of a cost overrun for MagTec.
According to Sasha Froyland, Help4Access CEO, “Because Microsoft Access is the fastest prototyping tool available, it was the ideal platform to rapidly build the particular set of custom functions MagTec needed.”
The Help4Access team designed and built a custom Microsoft Access solution that supports MagTec Alaska’s procurement process from beginning to end. The system supports:
- order intake
- tracking and processing of purchase orders
- tasks related to material requisition
- ordering and inventory
- part sales
- customer service functions
- supply management
By tying the different pieces of the procurement process together into a single application, this solution increases MagTec’s efficiency and provides robust data management and reporting functions. It is a unique integrated full-function suite that fits the business methods of the client “like a glove.”
Balance performance and cost, functionality versus risk
For small businesses, custom-built solutions using Microsoft Access are often an ideal way to get the functionality they need at the price they can afford. All custom solutions designed and developed by Help4Access using the Microsoft Access platform provide the right tradeoffs between performance, cost, functionality and risk.
Takeaway: A unique combination of business processes may be available in packaged form, but at a price point 10 to 20 times greater than a custom-developed Microsoft Access solution. For a small or medium-sized business, the custom approach is not only less costly, but much faster to implement than an enterprise packaged application.
