Behind every good leader is a great team. Behind every good athlete is a committed coach. Behind every good chef is a messy kitchen. And behind every good bricks-and-mortar retail business is a good ERP software system.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software enables businesses to automate processes and workflows, streamline operations and effectively deliver on customer expectations. In a specialized, service-based business like ours, with various government support programs and insurer-related processes involved, we honestly couldn’t give our customers the level of service they enjoy without our ERP system running in the background and keeping us in check.
Recently, our ERP software provider, Spire Systems (headquartered in Langley, BC), contacted us because they wanted to profile Kootenay Columbia Home Medical Equipment (KCHME) on their website with a case study highlighting the benefits their software has introduced to our operations.
While the Spire case study highlights the benefits their ERP software offers our business, we thought it would be equally compelling here to spell out how the system benefits our customers.
Ultimately, home medical equipment is a very people-focused business. Our goal is to understand the unique needs of each customer and offer customized solutions that make every day better. It’s personal, and the services we provide have a profound impact on the physical and emotional well-being of everyone we are honoured to help.
Spire ERP supports our high service standards and allows us to add that personalized touch. It keeps us organized and, ironically, enables us to be more human in our customer service approach in ways not humanly possible.
Our Spire system was implemented by Laniku Consulting Group, and Laniku’s owner, Danelle Webster, elaborates on how our ERP benefits our customers:
“Let’s say someone orders a piece of equipment that has a preventative maintenance schedule. KCHME can enter that schedule in the software and the system prompts them to follow up with the customer whenever necessary. The level of proactivity is amazing, and it always points back toward the health and well-being of the patient.”
As alluded to earlier, our ERP also helps us navigate the variety of home medical government programs available. WorkSafeBC, ICBC, Social Development & Poverty Reduction, Palliative Equipment Services; each funding resource has its own strict application processes. Spire helps us to complete all the paperwork correctly, optimizing the time it takes to get approval on the funding.
Spire also helps immensely with inventory and order management. “The system sees what’s on an equipment order or repair order and assesses what is needed to put the order together,” explains Christine Fearon with Laniku Consulting. “With a wheelchair repair, for example, you sometimes need several parts and Spire automatically lets you know what needs to be ordered. It even manages non-standard/custom orders based on special clinician requests, and features backorder tracking in realtime. It also lets KCHME see what is in stock in each of their two store location, in case they can bring items together between stores to complete an order.”
“From compression garments and wheelchairs to accessibility elevators, our business is all about custom orders and offering custom solutions,” adds David Stokes, co-owner of KCHME. “Our ERP system supports our custom order stream so that we can track each order for each client, whether it is new equipment or parts for repair.”
Spire also enables us to seamlessly support our healthcare partners. All documentation, notes and attachments are kept in the patient’s file and can be called up anytime.
The benefits Spire brings to our day-to-day operations really are a win-win for us and for our customers. We can stay on top of our business workflows, reduce turnaround times and take error-prone processes out of our hands, and our customers get the personalized, hands-on service they deserve.
Home medical is a people-based business. But technology helps us deliver above and beyond customer expectations. Experience our customized customer-service approach and contact us online or give our closest store a ring to arrange your in-store consultation.