As a distributor of industrial instrumentation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate ourselves based on product or technology alone. The most effective way to define our value proposition is to provide better, more complete service, faster than our competitors do. Our competitive advantage is now tied directly to our Windows-based business systems, which position us to provide a premium service.

Five years ago, we knew it was time to replace Davis Controls' 20-year-old legacy information system. Windows-based enterprise resource planning software solutions were evolving. The potential of Web-focused commerce was becoming apparent. It was time to build a foundation from which to launch our company into an uncertain future.

We knew that other early adopters of these emerging technologies threatened our very survival — not out on the front line where our sales people struggled to demonstrate product differentiation — but in the back office, where competitors might introduce efficiencies to process more business, more profitably. We recognized that if technology might enable our competitors to steal our customers, then that same technology could be implemented by us first.

We saw an opportunity, by using enterprise-wide software specifically designed to integrate the operational processes of distribution, to leverage the power of Windows to our own competitive advantage.

At the enterprise level, the Macola software we selected has enabled us to increase our throughput without incurring additional expense to support it. It ties information from all of the elements of the sales and distribution process, including supplier and customer data, purchase and sales order information, and all related history records, into one common database. Since 1996, our sales have increased by more than 50 percent.

One unexpected benefit from adopting Windows technology came from establishing a wide area network via Citrix Metaframe. Prior to that, our branches had to call into the head office to confirm real-time data, check the status of available stock or outstanding accounts receivable, in order to issue a simple quotation or accept an order. After establishing the WAN, our long-distance telephone expenses dropped roughly $1,000 per month.

Another competitive advantage we've seen is in customer relationship management. For example, the software we use creates a matrix of each customer account, within which we can clearly see the development of each opportunity from beginning to end. Decisions can be made at key points in the sales process. Shared information now makes sales analysis, or equally important, 'loss of sales' analysis, more productive. CRM software will help shape our future success.

It is clear that the choices we made five years ago were good ones. Technology tools, beginning with the all-Windows suite of distribution software, provided the competitive advantage that we were hoping for. As manufacturers reassess their channel partners and how they go to market in our territories, our company continues to attract attention. During the past four years, Davis has acquired three important product lines that had been handled by less technology-enabled distributors.

We are committed to continuous improvement through the implementation of technology tools that make good business sense.