| ||
|
|
|
| |||
| |||
| |||
 |
Upgrade or Perish Lynne Brakeman, Pest Control Magazine It's easy to see when it's time to replace an old truck. You know without a doubt when a sprayer is on its last legs. And you don't have to work hard to understand the financial consequences of not keeping these important tools in top working condition. But how do you know when it's time to completely scrap your computer hardware and software and start from scratch? And will you ever recoup the painful expense (both in dollars and time)? How will you know when your antiquated business system is holding your company's growth back? Pest Control magazine interviewed five seasoned PMPs who have recently taken the plunge into upgraded computer systems. All of them are convinced that they are (or will soon) more than recoup their investment. But they frequently count the financial gains in terms of intangible negatives:
David Clark President/General Manager Arrow Exterminating/Clark's Weed Control Irmo, SC Technicians in field: 8 Office staff: 3 Branch offices: None PMP software: FMC's SmartBiz Primary applications: routing, scheduling, billing, invoicing, customer tracking Just like you have to keep up with new technology in termiticides, you have to keep up with computer technology, says David Clark, president and general manager of Arrow Exterminating and Clark's Weed Control. In 1995, Clark took over the family business founded by his father 42 years ago. Very quickly, he found himself with the unenviable job of bringing that business into the computer age. He counts himself lucky to have some very good friends who happened to be computer programmers. He says his friends helped him become educated before taking the plunge. We started with an MS-DOS-based system in 1995, Clark recalls. But when I was looking to switch from DOS to Windows in 1998, I did a lot of research. In the end, I decided to remain with my previous company, which is now owned by FMC. Even though he didn't switch vendors, Clark says data conversion was the biggest challenge when the company switched to Windows-based SmartBiz: It basically takes a year to get things straightened out, because that's about how long it takes you to go through all of your accounts. Clark says that while the new software helps keep renewals from slipping through the cracks, the main savings have been intangible --the people the company didn't need to hire to grow its customer base. We've grown through using our computer system, Clark says. When we converted from paper to the MS-DOS program, we had about 4,500 customers. Currently, we have a little more than 11,000 customers, without any additional office staff. Goodbye, index cards Clark is sure that the old index-card system, with all its typewritten renewal notices, would have made it difficult for the company to effectively handle so many new customers. Recently, he went one step further - opting to use handheld computers (Compaq iPAQ) and eliminate the printed route sheet. The biggest savings came in the office staff time, Clark says. Something that used to take 15 to 20 minutes to change and print out and give to a technician now only takes two minutes. Clark says making a change in a single appointment used to mean having to go in and manually change all the appointments on the route for that day. Now, the software updates all the routes automatically. Clark tells Pest Control he was a little worried that his technicians would resist the switch from paper to handheld computers, so he used a little management savvy to get everyone on the same page. I gave an iPAQ to my best technician to try out first, Clark confides. When he said he liked it, I got him trained and he showed the rest of them. Actually, most of them are younger and more computer-savvy than I was - and they quickly saw that it would cut their work in half. Clark says the preloaded notes and graphics have helped the technicians cut their field time, so they can make more appointments and earn more. He also says he hasn't used the free training that was included when he bought the handheld system, although he's trying to get the technicians scheduled so they can ask specific questions. He explains they got together and played around with the units and called the customer service technician with a few questions. That was it. Clark says the next expansion will be to add chemical tracking, and maybe Global Positioning System (GPS) capability. Jed D'Arensbourg President D.A. Exterminating Metairie, LA Technicians in field: 40 Office staff: 10 Branch offices: 3 PMP software: Marathon Data Systems' RoutePoint Applications: scheduling, routing, customer tracking Other software: fleet management, vehicle tracking (GPS) Like David Clark, Jed D'Arensbourg took over a long-established, family-owned business. My father started the company in 1959, says D'Arensbourg, who became president in 1995. I started working here when I was in high school in the 1970s. Unlike Clark, D'Arensbourg inherited a company that had taken the computer plunge very early. In the 1980s, D'Arensbourg's mother became president and promptly upgraded the front office with fax machines, photocopiers and, in 1986, an MS-DOS-based computer system for both scheduling and accounting. D'Arensbourg says they hung onto the old, DOS-based system for 14 years. In 2000, they discovered they could no longer get technical support for the accounting package and decided to switch to QuikBooks. The decision to upgrade their routing and scheduling package was inevitable. 'Hate-love' relationship Of course, I didn't want to spend the money and make the change, but we did it anyway, D'Arensbourg recalls. He gritted his teeth and took out a $60,000 line of credit at the bank. In the beginning, everybody hated the change. We all just hated learning something new. Now, almost a year later, we all absolutely love it! It's the greatest change we ever made. D'Arensbourg tells Pest Control that the old system would produce financial reports as 500-page computer printouts at the end of the month when everything was closed out. Now, he can pull up financial information any day of the month and view it on the computer screen - no more searching through binders. D'Arensbourg says he added a Global Positioning System (GPS) package to all his trucks after discovering that one of his employees was stealing chemical and selling it on the side. After estimating his loss in chemicals at about $20,000, not to mention the money he spent for a detective to prove that the employee was dishonest so he could fire him, D'Arensbourg says the investment in a GPS system seemed like a sensible thing. He says he spent about $2,000 for the basic software package (ShadowTracker, Advanced Tracking Technologies, Inc., www.advantrack.com and $300 for each truck. The system is affordable, because the reports aren't sent in real time. Instead, the tracking information is downloaded to the home office computer when the trucks return for the day. At the end of the week, D'Arensbourg can review every route, to see whether there were any deviations. D'Arensbourg, like Clark, counts the financial benefits of the investment in his new software system in terms of money he didn't have to spend. Our business has grown, things are faster and more precise now, and I haven't had to add any new office personnel, D'Arensbourg says. I got my money's worth out of that old system. Now it looks like I'm going to get my money's worth out of this one. Marc Dykstra Operations Manager Enviropest Windsor, CO Technicians in field: 8 Office staff: 2 Branch offices: none PMP management software: FMC's SmartBiz Applications: scheduling, routing, customer tracking, bar code-based data capture Enviropest got a real bargain in Marc Dykstra when he became operations manager in 2000. Dykstra was not only a family member, he had also managed his own computer software service company for several years. When the family wanted to upgrade, Dykstra brought what he had learned back to the family business - and became the unofficial CIO with a mandate to eliminate paperwork. The conversion began in November 2001 and went live in January. All techs now use handheld Compaq iPAQs. Instead of stopping in at an office every morning and evening, the technicians set the handheld in a cradle connected to their home phone. The computer dials up Enviropest's office, downloads data on that day's work and uploads the schedule for the next day. Eliminates branch offices Dykstra says one of the biggest savings is eliminating the need for branch offices. All you need is a local phone number. We hired one technician who lives in the mountains, and he can handle the whole western side of the state. That's only possible because we don't have to shuffle paperwork back and forth. They dial in their data, and we mail them their paychecks, Dykstra says. Enviropest also paid extra to equip the handheld computers with bar code scanners so it can offer an upgraded service to large commercial clients, like a 1-million-sq.-ft WalMart distribution center. Because it's selling food products now, Wal-Mart needed proof of its pest control compliance. Before buying into Enviropests' bar code-based system, Wal-Mart used to send an employee to follow the PMP on a three-day walk around the facility, checking more than 700 bait stations placed every 40 feet. Today, Enviropest's technicians scan a bar code at each station, and get a time and date stamp that proves the station was checked. By taking the leap of faith, spending the time, money and energy to put a system like this in place, we believe we're raising the bar for technology, accountability and service, Dykstra says. We want to be the frontrunners in that. We also think this kind of system will soon be mandated, at least for schools. If that happens, we'll be ready. Dykstra is planning to add the mapping module to SmartBiz very soon. It maps and optimizes a route for the best drive time. And, when an appointment is added or canceled, it recalculates the route immediately for the best driving time. Dykstra tells Pest Control he's sure that a mapping module will save time and money in backtracking and scheduling conflicts. Besides that, the company saves a lot of money on printing they don't need to do any more, and on the gas their employees don't use to drive back and forth to the office. That's also time saved - which translates into more production. I totally believe that we'll make back what we've spent on the product this first year, Dykstra declares. Shane Faulkner President IPM Services Inc. Winston-Salem, NC Technicians in field: 5 Office staff: 1 Branch offices: none PMP management software: Marathon Data Systems' RoutePoint Applications: scheduling, routing, customer tracking, accounts receivable Shane Faulkner, president of IPM Services, Inc., Winston-Salem, NC, says he and his secretary wasted two weeks entering data into a new software program before deciding that the system wasn't up to the challenge. He got on the Internet and did a search for pest control software. He's glad he did. He's been leasing the RoutePoint service for about a year now. IPM Services serves residential, nursing facilities and commercial kitchens in both North and South Carolina. The five field technicians (including Faulkner) all work solely on a commission and profit-sharing basis. Faulkner tells Pest Control that his company entered the pest control business in 1998. He started out managing with filing cabinets, corkboards and marker boards. However, he quickly found himself having a hard time keeping up with scheduling, sales, commissions and compliance with pesticide regulations. I was looking for a program that would be suited especially for pest control, since it's a little different than most businesses, Faulkner says. By leasing the RoutePoint service, he can access the system wherever he is - at home, in a hotel on the road or at the main office. His technicians fill in paperwork orders that they mail to the main office, where the secretary enters the data into the system. I really like having access to our computer all the time, Faulkner says. And we don't have to worry about our office computer crashing. A new start When Faulkner finally decided on the RoutePoint system, he decided to start from scratch entering the data. I wanted to start with a clean slate. I hired another secretary, and it took about a month. If I'd really been able to concentrate on just that, we might've been able to finish in a couple weeks, Faulkner says. The new system lets Faulkner apply different commissions to different services. He can also create new services, multiple services and multiple locations under a main address. For example, one of his clients is Waffle House, with 35 locations in two states. The new software package takes care of applying different sales tax for both states and dozens of counties. In the future, Faulkner wants to add a bar coding system for some of his larger customers, like food-processing centers. Faulkner says the only training expense was the time he had to spend to learn it himself. He had a two-hour telephone training session, and many calls to the customer service center with questions. Because he's chosen to lease the program over the Internet, Faulkner pays a quarterly subscription fee. There are no hidden costs for unexpected repairs or down time. He also believes he's saved money by not having scheduling conflicts or neglecting to get customers renewed. Before you try a new software package, have a game plan on how you are going to enter your data, Faulkner advises. Todd Leyse Vice President Adam's Pest Control Hamel, MN Technicians in field: 32 Office staff: 9 Branch offices: none PMP management software: Marathon Data Systems' RoutePoint Applications: scheduling, routing, billing Adam's Pest Control, founded in 1971, is another family-owned business that had the good fortune to have a son with a bent for computers. Adam's serves the Twin Cities metro area, central and western Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Vice President Todd Leyse has a computer science degree from the University of Minnesota and worked in the computer support department of Honeywell. Leyse rejoined the family business in 1996. He recalls hanging around the office as a kid when they used metal plates and stamping machines to handle the paperwork. Leyse recalls that his dad, Harold, bought the company's first computer back in 1989. He rented a trailer and drove to Michigan to haul it back to Minnesota. It was a mini-mainframe, Leyse recalls. It had a disk drive the size of a washing machine. That system lasted nearly 12 years, through two hardware upgrades. In December, however, the company began the switch to RoutePoint. It completed the transition in six weeks. We're still going through the learning curve, Leyse admits. One of the biggest challenges was not really software-related. We wanted to redesign our invoice to work better on the new printers. Ordering the new computer server only took a week. But we had to give the printer at least two weeks' lead time to get us new invoices. Taking it slow Leyse says the company decided to keep it simple and not implement all the features the software offered at the same time. More features will be rolled out over the next year, including the ability to design customized reports. Leyse tells Pest Control that the route mapping module is one of the most important improvements he wants to add. I'm anticipating that what takes two people close to 16 hours to do will be reduced to only 4 hours, Leyse says. And, instead of only mapping out our routes once in a while, we'll be able to remap them weekly if we want to. Even though it's a large operation, Leyse says the company is still exploring how to integrate handheld computers into the mix. He estimates that is probably something Adam's will add within the next year. There's a significant monthly expense to having a completely wireless system, Leyse says. When we do move to handhelds, I'm perfectly comfortable with capturing data and uploading it at the end of the day. When it comes to computer technology, Leyse says he prefers to be at the leading edge, but not at the bleeding edge, of the curve. Still, you need to know where you want to go, you don't want to underinvest, Leyse says. The last system lasted us 12 years, and my dad spent something like $11,000 on it at a time when our company had net revenue of about $1 million. Now we have net revenue in the neighborhood of $3 million. If this system lasts 12 years, our investment will be a fraction of our operations over that period of time. |
 |
News & Events Case Studies Archived Articles 
|
|
||||||
|
