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Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana is Growing While Cutting Costs
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc. (GICI) is a not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to help people prepare for, find, and keep jobs. With over 1,100 employees, they operate 26 thrift stores and raise $45 million annually to help support their mission.
GICI was operating an "archaic" Wang mini-computer solution which lacked accounts receivable and reporting functionality. Along with 23 other Goodwills, they opted to purchase Microsoft Dynamics GP. They also utilize Microsoft Windows XP Professional and servers operating Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server.
This solution has assisted in increasing revenue by approximately 50 percent and in increasing the number of employees by 30 percent, all while reducing their accounting staff by 36 percent. GICI has also been able to cut their consultant costs by $175,000. They have also reduced their budget input time by 80 percent; this enables them to spend more time on budget analysis.
Situation
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc. (GICI) is a not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to help people prepare for, find, and keep jobs. GICI operates 26 thrift stores, and has over 53 sites in Central Indiana. The stores sell primarily donated goods, mostly clothing. With over 1,100 employees, many of whom are disabled and disadvantaged people, the stores generate $45 million annually to help support its mission.
Beyond the retail operations, GICI operates three other businesses:
- Human Services-provides job search and placement assistance, as well as training for people who are out of work for whatever reason (disability, economic disadvantage, relocation, previous placement in a correctional facility)
- Industrial Services-employs individuals to do light packaging and assembly work for companies in Central Indiana
- Government Contracts-employs individuals to provide janitorial labor
GICI previously operated with a donated Wang mini-computer system with very limited functionality. "It was really archaic and horrible," says Dan Riley, CFO.
"It was awful," echoes Juli Richardson, Director of Business Operations and Continuous Improvements. "Our Wang solution had no Accounts Receivable (AR) functionality; so we had a separate AR package. We had to enter information into that software and then upload it to our Wang solution." The former solution also lacked reporting capabilities; so GICI had to download information into it from Quattro Pro, a spreadsheet package from Borland.
Solution
In 1999, GICI made it a priority to select new software. Since GICI is a member of Goodwill Industries International, they knew they were eligible to receive a member discount on Microsoft Dynamics GP software. Their partner, InterDyn, helped them analyze their business needs and brought in three to four accounting packages for them to evaluate. After this evaluation, they liked the look and feel of Microsoft Dynamics GP best. They chose that option and opted to operate it on Dell Servers using Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server. The solution also utilizes Microsoft Windows XP Professional.
They began the implementation with the core accounting modules and payroll for 200 employees. Subsequently, they added payroll for the remaining employees along with fixed assets. Microsoft Dynamics for Analytics-FRx Professional was also added for improved reporting.
Six months later, GICI implemented the manufacturing module. According to Richardson, manufacturing was previously a completely manual operation with "employees filling out pink delivery slips and then sending these to customers with the shipment". GICI doesn't own its inventory; so the new solution helped improve accountability on consignment items, as well as inventory tracking and reporting.
Prior to implementation of the manufacturing module, the industrial processes used by GICI were very fluid and changed frequently. The new solution helped GICI develop standardized manufacturing processes. They implemented the manufacturing module in two plants.
GICI has also integrated Kronos Time Capture and Argis Point of Sale into their solution.
Following implementation, GICI has increased revenue by 50 percent and increased the number of employees by about 30 percent; this was done while reducing their accounting staff by 36 percent.
"Using this solution makes it easy for new people coming into our organization," says Scott Bess, Director of IT. "It's very easy to support and I don't have to worry about hiring specialized people or about training people in on the environment."
"There is still more that we can do with our Microsoft Dynamics GP solution," says Bess. "We plan to continue to expand our solution; you know a company is happy with their software when they are expanding their use of it."
"Even though we have greatly improved our processes, we still have potential we haven't tapped yet," says Richardson. "Microsoft Dynamics GP will help us to reach that potential."
Benefit
Improved Reporting GICI is organized into two separate legal entities and uses 20-digit accounting codes to organize their business. Microsoft Great Plains allows the company to cut separate payrolls and to summarize accounting for their two divisions with both separate and consolidated financials.
Previously, GICI had to enter a great deal of data outside their accounting software and manually put it into a separate spreadsheet. "Our reporting was very limited before," says Riley. "Now, we have only one version of the truth and a tremendous amount of flexibility in the reports we can access."
Improved reporting helps GICI close the month 50 percent faster than they previously did. Rather than closing in 12 days, they now close in six. "And this is all due to the reporting capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP," says Richardson.
Time Savings
GICI experienced substantial time savings as a result of implementation.
Budgeting-Previously, it took GICI about two weeks to enter data, import, and upload their budget. This process now takes two days, a reduction of 80 percent. "This gives us more time on analysis and helps insure that we have a realistic budget," says Richardson.
Payroll-"Improved functionality for payroll takes one day off of each payroll period when it comes to the initial check run," says Richardson.
Cutting/printing/distributing checks-GICI is now able to cut checks in five minutes versus the previous three to four hours. Printing and distribution time for checks has been reduced by one day also. GICI runs the checks right off the printer and auto-seals them.
Consultant Cost Savings
According to Richardson, expenses for technical consultant costs have decreased dramatically from $175,000 per year to "almost nothing."
Ability to Grow
Microsoft Dynamics GP helped GICI to increase revenue by 50 percent and increase their staff by 30 percent while reducing their accounting staff by 36 percent.
Solid Architecture
"From the technical perspective, Microsoft Dynamics GP has a very solid architecture that doesn't require a lot of care and feeding," says Bess. "Because it uses technology that is standard in the industry, we don't need to have a specialist dedicated to it."
Bess believes that Microsoft is heading in the right direction with web-based employee portals and the other new features they are adding. "This is where we are going as a company also," says Bess.
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