How was Efco handling Returned Goods process before versus after Unifize
In this video, Carol Wilson from Efco vividly details the transformation in handling the Returned Goods process before and after adopting Unifize. She describes the cumbersome, error-prone system of managing returns via Excel, involving complex tabs and manual notifications, which often led to delays and communication breakdowns. Carol contrasts this with the streamlined, efficient process enabled by Unifize, where automated notifications and a centralized system ensure quick, accurate handling of returns, significantly improving accountability and operational efficiency. This change not only saved time but also enhanced collaboration across departments.
Transcript

00:00 - 00:05
The Return Goods process before Unifize was a Excel sheet that we had to fill out.



00:05 - 00:20
You had to remember who on the group that needed to be emailed to be notified to stop all payment to stop, to notify quality, to go down and check it, here's the PO, here's the price.



00:20 - 00:32
And then they had to attach everything by tabs on there. So you created a tab for pictures. You created a tab for what was wrong with it. You created a tab for when the credit came back and so forth.



00:32 - 00:37
I mean, it was multiple tabs. And each person that had to touch it had to do it.



00:37 - 00:44
But accounting, that was the most important to stop any payment on the PO until that got resolved.



00:44 - 00:56
It's whatever is wrong coming in. And that could be it could be once a week, it could be once a month. The important thing is to catch it at the time it's coming in and not after the fact when you've already cut something.



00:56 - 01:03
Because once you've cut something and it's wrong, it's our material. You know, you can't go back on the vendor then and expect a payment.



01:03 - 01:16
Now Unifize allows that all in one grouping so you can go in and find that RGA. We have to get those fields more customized to open up to show everything that we need.



01:16 - 01:24
But if no one has created the PDF of the RGA, accounting did not know how to go find that in the RGA.



01:24 - 01:28
You can't collaborate like you can in the Unifize on the Excel.



01:28 - 01:45
I don't specifically want to go back to the the previous one because, again, you've got to call people to tell it's there. You have to notify them, the accounting to stop payment. They don't realize it's there. I mean, it's a constant check.



01:45 - 01:52
Now, it automatically emails them back to okay, stop. You got to look at this now and don't pay anything.



01:52 - 02:09
And then Dave, oh I see we created this. If I create it, it's because the wrong product coming in the door. If he creates it, something is wrong and doesn't match our print. So it's two different people creating the process, but the results are the same.



02:09 - 02:17
He still has to go look at it. He has to verify that it's wrong. And we don't take the word of just the person checking the material in.



02:17 - 02:28
So it stops the process from going to the floor and getting it cut. It saves time that I don't have to look at it again once it's created. It goes on to the next person and I'm done.



02:28 - 02:37
The Excel again, it's a memory thing. You have to remember the right people to contact and in the right order to make things happen.



02:37 - 02:41
In Unifize, it automatically alerts you through the email process.



02:41 - 02:56
Okay, we have a group in there. That group’s contacted right away. Finance is always in there, purchasing is always in there. And then it's whoever else we've added in there besides quality if they're making it but it stops the nonsense.



02:56 - 03:02
And on people that don't need to know, it's just the people that are need to be informed of it.

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Transcript

But what we've known from what I experience was, is we were able to get there with the system. We still there with the system. The system has what is needed to provide us what we're looking for, because every company, admittedly, is trying to get compliant. If we educate people, if we get people the education that they need and to get over the fear factor, I think 90% of those things can be resolved because most people will go to what they're most familiar with.What I worked with from a different company, but they're not willing to sit down and look at what the demographics are saying. People are into social media now. People are moving fast into fast paced world. But technologies are still antiquated. So there's a disconnect here, right? So while we're moving at a fast pace at home with dragging at work, so why can't we continue that speed while we at work?If your supplier has issues and you're not informed on time, you want to have an alternate supplier in place. If your suppliers are not qualified, you may not know that that needs to happen. And so when you have an integrated system that speaks to itself and is giving you all this data, you literally have the pulse of the organization in your hands as an executive at a money bound access.

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