Executive Summary:
When a wholesale hobby and model business wanted to build an entire computer platform from the ground up, it went to Miles Technologies to tackle the job.

The Challenge:
Running a 50-employee, family-owned hobby and model wholesale company is a big deal.

To Mike Bass, president of Stevens International, a Magnolia, NJ-based wholesale hobby product distributor with revenues in "the low eight figures in 2001", the business is a lot of fun but a lot of responsibility. "My dad started a hobby business in 1956 and we've been on our own here since 1976," the affable Bass explains.

The company admittedly had a limited information technology operation. Maybe limited isn't the right word - how about non-existent? "That's right, we didn't have any computers," says Bass. "We produced invoices manually and did not have the capability to search inventory for product requests. Basically we were an old fashioned traditionally run business."

When clients began complaining that they couldn't read the hand written invoices and they couldn't easily search for products, Bass knew it was time to get automated. "When you have over 50,000 items in inventory and can't find the right product at your fingertips, that's a problem," he says. "If a client requested a Boeing 747 model kit in a specific scale it was nearly impossible to find using our manual system. Without immediate response to customer needs the image of the company could deteriorate rapidly and the customer could look elsewhere."

The Solution:
Bass turned to Miles Technologies to bring Stevens International online - on time and on budget. Miles Technologies is a Marlton, New Jersey-based provider of highly customized integration, networking and Internet services for a wide range of businesses throughout the Delaware Valley and New York Metropolitan area. The firm was founded in 1997 by current president Chris Miles, a charismatic entrepreneur with an innate ability to combine business logic with today's technologies. The firm prides itself on being a complete solutions provider that provides its clients with a single, tightly integrated system developed by the same team of skilled engineers from end-to-end. This "single source" approach saves Miles Technologies' clients like Stevens International time and money they would otherwise spend searching for multiple vendors to provide individual services.

"I had received some information from Chris Miles and filed it in my desk, which was a rarity for me since I throw most fax advertisements in the trash," recalls Bass. "I kept his stuff figuring I might need a guy like that one day."

A few months later that day came as Bass knew he needed some help meeting his customer demands to automate his business. "We talked and I liked what I heard," says Bass. "I expected a sales pitch but what I found was a great listener. I did most of the talking and Chris asked a lot of questions about my business. That was a dramatic departure from most vendors from my point of view."

Bass asked Miles if he could build Stevens International an automated billing and invoice system where his salespeople could access and produce client paperwork instantly online. He also wanted help in finding products in the company inventory.

"We talked for a month back and forth about what we needed," adds Bass. "I was hesitant, having not done this sort of thing before. But Chris was patient. I guess he figured patience was a virtue with a guy who'd gone 25 years without a computer."

Soon a blueprint was developed and the staff at Miles Technologies went to work. The first order of business was developing a basic idea for a computer program. "What really sold me on Miles Technologies was the time they took to prepare for the job," offers Bass. "They'd come in and ask questions and insisted on a tour of our business, always wanting to know how things worked here and how we made money. Finally, Chris told me that all I needed was something to augment my business and not change it. That line alone sold me on Chris Miles."

Miles Technologies went to work developing a custom web-based software application tailored to the exact design derived from the existing business procedures that made Stevens International one of the largest and most successful companies in its industry. Coupled with the new software was the installation of 22 workstations to input orders, produce picking tickets, search inventory, and track accounts receivable. The new system was tested and Stevens International's staff was trained on it in a matter of weeks. "Actually I was away on vacation," Bass says. "and when I came back everything was up and running and it all worked great."

But Miles Technologies wouldn't leave until every employee knew how to run the software. "They were so responsive it was scary," says Bass. "It was like Chris would take it personally if the system didn't meet our needs. We launched the system in September 2001, which is a busy time for us and I could not afford to be down. But everything ran smoothly from day one."

Bass has already seen an upgrade in productivity since the new computer system was installed. "We were really pleased with Miles Technologies," he says. "I remember shortly afterward a friend inquired about automating his business." I said "Do I have the company for you!"