Marathon Brake Systems

Sage 300 ERP Fuels Operations for Marathon Brake Systems

Marathon Brake Systems distributes heavy-duty brake lining products to fleet customers, auto supply stores, and repair facilities. Founded in 1991, the company has built a reputation for superior products backed by excellent service. With sales professionals stationed across North America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, Marathon Brake Systems’ reach is broad. To ensure it processes orders quickly and efficiently and continues to build its service levels, Marathon Brake Systems requires a modern and robust ERP solution—Sage 300 ERP.*

Straightforward Migration Path
As the company looked for a business management solution to replace its previous version of Sage PFW ERP, Sage 300 ERP was the only software it seriously considered. “We wanted better inventory control tools and we wanted an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system as well,” recalls Luz Carvajal, controller for Marathon Brake Systems. “Our Sage business partner knows our business well and recommended Sage 300 ERP. It turned out to be a great decision for us.”

The company’s Sage business partner converted the data from Sage PFW ERP to Sage 300 ERP using a combination of conversion maps available from Sage and SQL-based tools the partner created specifically for Marathon Brake Systems.

Flexible Tools Improves Support Levels
The flexible SQL architecture of Sage 300 ERP enables the company’s business partner to create specialized views and queries to deliver the precise information its staff needs. For example, because Marathon Brake Systems does not preassemble items, a typical inventory status view would show an out-of-stock situation when an assembly item is queried. The Sage business partner created a customized view that shows the component items associated with the assembly item, including their quantity available and committed by warehouse. “We use that query to determine if we have the components on hand to build the ordered item,” says Carvajal. “It is a real step saver and also improves the service level we are able to provide to our customers.”

Challenge
Marathon Brake Systems sought a powerful inventory control solution with integrated CRM capabilities to replace its older ERP application.

Solution
Sage 300 ERP and Sage CRM deliver the feature set and tools Marathon Brake Systems uses to fuel its operations.

Results
A straightforward migration path eased the transition. Flexible tools allow tailoring to meet unique business needs. Quick access to accurate data improves service.

Access to up-to-date inventory data enables the company’s conscientious customer support team to give customers accurate estimates of ship dates. “We can see precisely what is on hand and what is on order,” says Carvajal. “Our customers appreciate the speed and accuracy of our order processing cycle.”

Accurate Costing of Assemblies
Marathon Brake Systems performs light assembly on many of the products it sells, and the flexible, easy-to-use bill of materials features within Sage 300 ERP are ideal. “We now have more accurate costing data for our assembled items, plus there is less manual entry. The assembly process removes the components from inventory and replaces them with the finished item as the goods are sold,” explains Carvajal.

Streamlined Financial Reporting
Carvajal appreciates the way she can export data to Microsoft Excel ® from Sage 300 ERP. “I use Excel for much of my reporting and can easily import and export data from Sage 300 ERP to Excel and back. I am saving a lot of time each month and have much quicker access to the data I need to do my job.”

Integrated CRM Solution
One reason that Sage 300 ERP appealed to Marathon Brake Systems was its tight integration with Sage CRM. With sales representatives scattered across multiple countries, it was vital for the company to be able provide them with fast, reliable, and comprehensive access to customer, inventory, and order data. The representatives are able to enter orders, check stock levels, reprint invoices, monitor a customer’s credit status, and much more without needed direct access to the accounting application. In addition, the representatives use Sage CRM to set and track appointments, leads and opportunities, and to facilitate customer communications. “We didn’t have a CRM tool before,” notes Carvajal. “So our representatives had to call in to our offices to ask questions about their orders, customers, or products. Sage CRM is making a big impact in our operations already, and we expect that impact to grow as we begin using its additional capabilities.”

In Sage 300 ERP and Sage CRM, Marathon Brake Systems has found an integrated business management solution capable of fueling its operations through years of growth and change.