Radio Systems Corporation Rapidly On Boards Acquired Companies, Supports Growing Global Business and Large Retailers with Integrated Applications
 
 

Radio Systems Corporation Rapidly On Boards Acquired Companies, Supports Growing Global Business and Large Retailers with Integrated Applications

Printer View Printer View

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Radio Systems Corporation, known as PetSafe, is the industry leader in the management of pet behavior―offering pet training, containment, safety, and lifestyle products. PetSafe introduced the first do-it-yourself electronic fence to the pet market in 1991 and the first wireless fence in 1998. Today, its product lines include kennels and electronic underground fences, bark control systems, a selection of remote training products, pet doors, pet identification collars, heated wellness products, pet feeders, and a growing line of lifestyle products.

Facing a growing demand from online and traditional retailers for its range of pet training and lifestyle products, Radio Systems needed an enterprise application environment that could support complex order requirements and ensure transaction accuracy. The company also wanted to quickly integrate acquisitions into its IT environment and sustain rapid annual revenue growth.

After analyzing available solutions, Radio Systems Corporation implemented Oracle E-Business Suite to create a highly scalable and integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment. Oracle Database 11g with Real Application Clusters delivered 24/7 availability to support global operations. Together, Oracle’s engineered-to-work-together systems provided a world-class IT infrastructure that fully supports company’s goal of reaching US$500 million in annual revenue.

 
 

 
 

Challenges

A word from Radio Systems Corporation

  • “Oracle products are engineered to work together and give us peace of mind that we will have the high availability and functionality we require to meet our goals for business growth. For that reason, Oracle is our preferred IT partner.” – Chris Chandler, Chief Financial Officer, Radio Systems Corporation

  • Create an enterprise application environment that enables the company to meet growing demand for its pet behavior management products from large, brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Pet Smart, as well as e-commerce giants, including Amazon.com
  • Support the electronic data interchange requirements of large retailers and e-commerce providers to ensure the accuracy of transactions to facilitate timely payment
  • Replace disparate enterprise applications that preclude enterprise visibility
  • Position the company to achieve its goal of US$500 million in annual revenue
  • Integrate acquired companies rapidly to jump start return on investment (ROI)

Solutions

Oracle Product and Services

  • Deployed Oracle E-Business Suite as the company’s integrated ERP foundation―enabling it to achieve enterprise visibility, support the requirements of large retail customers, and rapidly integrate acquired companies
  • Gained the ability to easily support retailer requirements, such as automated purchase orders and verification of ordered-versus-shipped-items, as well as to provide advance shipment notices for pet training and lifestyle products
  • Integrated a major acquisition into the Oracle E-Business Suite environment in slightly more than four months, enabling the company to quickly eliminate duplicate departments and infrastructure to accelerate ROI
  • Gained a highly extensible application infrastructure to ensure easy integration with the pet product company’s contract manufacturing partners, as well as third-party logistics partners
  • Supported the company as it outsourced its warehousing operations, with the ability to communicate electronically with these partners for real-time information
  • Standardized the item master with Oracle’s Agile Product Lifecycle Management for greater order accuracy and improved visibility into the life cycle of the company’s pet training and protection products
  • Used Oracle iSupplier to effectively manage the company’s off-shore contract manufacturers, enabling it to transfer requisitions, purchase orders, acknowledgements, and invoices electronically as well as automate the matching of those invoices, saving time and administrative resources
  • Allowed the company to close its financial books in two days each month, compared to two weeks prior to the Oracle E-Business Suite implementation
  • Deployed Oracle’s Demantra Demand Management, which is beginning to reduce the risk of manufacturing delays—and lost revenue—when working with contract manufacturers in Asia, for which lead times can extend to 50 days
  • Enabled the company to process three times more orders per person than a highly productive company that it had just acquired, thanks to Oracle E-Business Suite
  • Achieved an earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) versus gross sales ratio that is two times higher than the acquired company due to productivity gains with Oracle E-Business Suite
  • Deployed self-service human resources (HR) capabilities for employees, making it more convenient for them to manage their personal information and enabling the company to serve a staff that is six-times larger, with the same number of HR management personnel
  • Improved ability to accurately and efficiently track employee participation in training programs with Oracle Learning Management
  • Gained 24/7 availability of critical business applications and real-time data, using Oracle Database 11g with Real Application Clusters 11g
  • Facilitated system documentation and user training with Oracle User Productivity Kit
  • Gained a single vendor to help the company manage its entire IT infrastructure, streamlining IT management

Why Oracle

When Radio Systems began to look for an integrated ERP solution, it considered systems from Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle. “We put a user team together and looked at all the plusses and minuses. Oracle E-Business Suite pulled ahead with its robust and flexible supply chain capabilities. In addition, the idea of streamlining vendor management appealed to the team. We now have a single source of truth to which we can look for answers to any business question we are asked. The benefits keep multiplying, making Oracle our preferred IT supplier,” said Roman Havrylyak, ERP Manager, Radio Systems Corporation.

Implementation Process

Radio Systems’ Oracle implementation was multiphased, starting with core Oracle E-Business Suite modules in 2006. The company then deployed Oracle’s self-service applications, followed by Value Chain Planning (Demantra and ASCP). Recently, the company went live with its Oracle Exadata Database Machine deployment. Deploying Agile applications and Demantra Real-Time Sales and Operations Planning are ongoing projects that are targeted to go-live in 2013. The company is planning to upgrade to Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 to optimize its enterprise application environment.

Resources