Ending the Paper Chase:

Bazzill Basics Paper Tears Into Inventory Challenges 

The folks at Bazzill Basics Paper in Chandler, Arizona have an eye for color and

greet their work with an artistic, discerning gaze. Serving the creative world of scrapbooking, Bazzill creates the number‐one leading cardstock thanks to

its unique quality and hues, and was the first in the industry to develop textured scrapbooking paper. Selling to both mom and‐pop stores and big‐box craft emporiums,

Bazzill excels at getting scrapbook artists’ memories down on paper. “Try having 10 different whites … and we’re not even into the ivories yet,” says Carol Niemyski, VP and COO at Bazzill.

“You can imagine what our inventory looks like. We have thousands and thousands of options, colors, papers, and textures for the kind of business we do.”

Shades of Gray

Bazzill had been using Sage MAS 90 since its inception and it served them well when the company was smaller. But with great success came an expanded product line

and larger customer base. With an increase in orders and thousands of inventory items processed daily, MAS 90 began lagging behind. When Bazzill moved into

its current 63,000‐square‐foot facility, the need to upgrade to Sage MAS 500 became apparent. Still, the choice to upgrade was not a black‐and‐white decision.

Smooth Transition On Paper and In Practice Bazzill called on its long‐time technology partner, Info Sys Management (ISM), to assist with the transition to MAS 500.

According to Paul Schreiber, Bazzill’s IT Manager, “ISM has been with us since the beginning and they know our business well. They did a fantastic job of helping us

understand why the upgrade would be beneficial, what the challenges might be, and developed a detailed plan to get through the transition smoothly.”

Because Bazzill did so much volume, ISM recognized that an upgrade during business hours could significantly impact operations. Therefore, ISM successfully

completed the data conversion over a weekend so come Monday morning, all files were transferred, historical data moved over, and MAS 500 was up &

running without a hitch. Success by the Book ISM had also developed a unique Warehouse Management System (WMS) that integrates with MAS 500. By adding the

custom WMS to MAS 500, Bazzill significantly improved speed and accuracy in the warehouse with bar codes, handheld devices, and automated data collection.

Prior to implementing WMS and MAS 500, Carol says, “Our warehouse processes were completely manual and the human side of our business was maxed out. It

became more and more difficult to keep up with the volume and manually doublecheck the accuracy of shipments and inventory.” Now, warehouse personnel rely on mobile laptops and handheld devices to scan inventory as it’s coming and going and all the information is fed back to MAS 500 in real‐time. According to Carol, “Our warehouse is so much more efficient and nearly error‐free. WMS makes everyone’s job easier while providing us with technology that will allows us to continue growing without adding headcount.”

 

Read more about the story of MAS 500 and Bazzill Basics and how ISM as the partner of choice helped Bazzill Basics Paper make the most of their ERP software in Phoenix/Chandler Arizona.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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