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JE Dunn Northwest
JE Dunn - NW Gets 16% Boost to Bottom Line with ToolWatch in Six Months—ToolWatch system saves $200,000 and pays for itself in first month of use
Situation
JE Dunn-Northwest, a subsidiary of JE Dunn Construction with offices in Portland and Seattle, needed a better tool management system, and they needed it yesterday. With 10 to 20 large jobsites operating simultaneously as far away as Alaska, each renting nearly $30 thousand in tools every month, management knew they needed tight control over the consumable and rental inventory.
But they didnt have control. The one-size-fits-all system JE Dunn was using had long ago outlived its usefulness. It was a paper-driven process, subject to human forgetfulness and disorganization. Plus, the system didnt track exactly where tools were, and sometimes rental items werent billed. Not only were drills and loaders and the like hard to pinpoint. To emphasize the point, immediately after installing ToolWatch, the only manlift in inventory was discovered by ToolWatch at a jobsite not accruing rent. The system, in identifying this error, immediately billed the job for three months back rent. Without ToolWatch in place, this error could have gone unnoticed for a number of months more costing the company several thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
Thinking a custom tool-tracking system was the answer, JE Dunn management was dismayed to learn that designing, testing and implementing a custom system would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars—and take more time than was feasible in their deadline-critical business. So they hired an independent contractor with an interest but little specific expertise to do the job.
Predictably, that approach didnt work, and time was wasting. They had to find an accurate, reliable system immediately.
Solution
A local company that partnered with JE Dunn had been using ToolWatch for inventory management. They offered to demonstrate the system to JE Dunn management, who were immediately sold. ToolWatch provided exactly what they needed, with superior, comprehensive features at a reasonable price—right out of the box. It was easy to use, tracking by barcodes, not slips of paper that could be misplaced. Even consumable supplies can be accounted for easily. ToolWatch reduced human error, too, by prompting users to explain incorrect transfers. When JE Dunn began cataloging their equipment using the ToolWatch system, it became apparent that they were missing some of the smaller tools they thought they had—and had more than they thought of others.
Result
Within six months of recording new tools and logging in returns from jobsites, JE Dunn finally had a solid handle on their real $2.5 million tool inventory. They have dramatically improved efficiency and slashed paperwork, another important objective.
With ToolWatch, we save time preparing for upcoming jobs, said Jim Grabski, director of finance. We use tools more effectively because we know when they are coming off jobsites and immediately reassign them. ToolWatch paid for itself in the first month.
ToolWatch not only paid for itself, but made a significant positive impact on the bottom line: From July through December 2003, JE Dunn identified an additional $200,000 in revenue, improving the companys financial performance by 16 percent. The company attributes that immediate, tangible return on investment directly to their purchase of ToolWatch.
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