Gas Barbeque Distributor Upgrades its Infor ERP

October 16, 2007 Alex Woodie

AEI Corp., a Southern California distributor of propane and natural gas grills, lights, and heaters, has tapped i5/OS ERP juggernaut Infor to upgrade its aging OS/400-based DMAS ERP system to the more modern i5/OS-based ERP A+ application, the former Daly.Commerce product.

Since it started selling its original Charmglow Gas Grill in 1966, AEI has been selling a variety of gas grills and accessories to wholesalers and retailers in the western states, Mexico, and Europe. About 20 years ago, the company installed DMAS, one of the original distribution packages developed for the S/36, which AEI relied on to keep track of its business.

The AS/400-based DMAS application, which Infor obtained more than three years ago with its acquisition of fellow Atlanta, Georgia, company Aperum, served AEI well for the next 20 years. However, it had begun to show its age. So earlier this year, the company decided it was time for an upgrade.

AEI decided to upgrade to ERP A+ (called Application Plus back in the Daly.Commerce days), a distribution solution with more legs and capabilities than DMAS. “Infor ERP A+ was the perfect choice because of its similarity to our previous system, coupled with new features and robust functionality to support increasing industry and customer demand,” says Fred Speicher, owner and vice president of administration.

Among the benefits AEI expects to reap from its A+ investment are: decreased operational costs; better visibility into customer demands; quicker payment processes; and the creation of a paperless environment. A+ will also bring integrated EDI capabilities.

AEI has also licensed eStorefront, an Infor e-commerce product that will allow the company to provide customers and partners with 24-hour access to its catalogs, stock levels, and pricing information.