B&B Hardware: Simplicity Is the Key

Jeff Bird of B&B Hardware

Dealership:: B&B Hardware
Industry:: Hardware
Affiliation:: Do It Best

B&B Hardware Uses:: POS software for hardware and lumber dealers

B&B Hardware has locations in Napoleon, Michigan and in nearby Jackson, both small towns in the southern part of the state. They launched the RockSolid POS system on October 1, 2009, after using Activant for 10 years.

“We got interested in RockSolid,” recounts Jeff Bird, manager of B&B Hardware, “because we were first looking at the cost of running software. The support fees for RockSolid were significantly lower than Activant. We went to a couple of other stores that were using RockSolid and we liked what we saw. We are now saving $600 a month in support fees using RockSolid.”

The support fees for RockSolid were significantly lower than Activant. We went to a couple of other stores that were using RockSolid and we liked what we saw. We are now saving $600 a month in support fees using RockSolid.

About the system as a whole, Bird says, “It’s just simpler.”

Inventory Has Never Been So Easy

In addition to the reduction in support fees, B&B Hardware is saving a lot of time. “I am liking the handheld bar code scanner for inventory real well,” says Bird. “That speeded things up greatly. It would have been very expensive to add the scanner with Activant.”

He continues, “We used to print inventory sheets and go off of a clipboard. Now I just walk the store, a section at a time, and do my count. And it’s so simple, I can give it to any employee to do inventory.”

“RockSolid also allows us to track inventory. It’s really easy to tie things together. For example, we sell pipe by the inch or foot or the entire thing, and wiring by the foot or by the roll. As I sell pipe or wiring, I can decrease the inventory by the exact amount, so I know exactly how much I have on hand, and how much has sold.”

[RockSolid's support staff are] all really friendly, and I like that I talk to the same people each time.

“Another thing I can do is set up specials. Like, I sell chainsaw chains at ‘buy one, get the second half off.’ I can set that up in RockSolid as a kit, so it doesn’t throw my inventory off.”

Ordering stock has gotten a lot easier, too. “I can do the order for an entire store in an hour,” says Bird. “Without RockSolid, it would be take two days.”

“I love the back office stuff, too. It’s very user friendly.”

RockSolid Reports Give a More Accurate Picture of Inventory

“When I first got the system, I ran reports on both stores and I found a lot of garbage—obsolete inventory that was still on the books and needed to be deleted,” Bird recounts.

“You can also sort by what you are out of and you can see how much you have sold over a period of time. So I can identify the items that I need to bump up, order more of. That way, I limit stock outages.”

RockSolid: Friendly, Knowledgeable Support

Support is really good…they talk you through it. If that doesn’t work, they dial in to your system and resolve it right then.

“Support is really good,” Bird says. “With Activant, unfortunately, it got to the point that you were calling someone offshore and could not resolve the problem. They didn’t know anything about the system and had no idea what you were talking about. With RockSolid, they talk you through it. If that doesn’t work, they dial in to your system and resolve it right then.”

“The cool thing about it is I call and then I’m good to go. They’re all really friendly, and I like that I talk to the same people each time.”

“Overall,” Bird says, “I’m happy we went with RockSolid. We haven’t got both stores networked yet, but we’re going to.”