Argos Software takes time to talk

by Nigel Lewis on 2010-06-29

What differentiates one software company from another is the ability to stand the test of time.  This is easier said than done, especially in today’s economic climate. The longevity of a business has to encompass adaptability, foresight, leadership and a strong product offering all of which is demonstrated through the success of Argos Software .

Geoff Hukins, Executive Director of Argos Software gives us an overview of the business and takes the time to answer a few questions.

1. Hi Jim, tell me about the genesis of the business, in other words how did the business start

Argos started out in 1979 when the owner, Alan Thodey, recognized a need for an accounting based software package specifically designed for the supply chain. 30 years later Alan still owns and runs the business and the product has evolved through much iteration to the complete supply chain solution we offer today.

2. Tell me about your products, and what makes them unique

Based on an accounting core the Enterprise, WMS and TMS components are fully integrated. The underlying philosophy is to enter data once, so a warehouse receipt into a 3PL triggers activity and storage billing in AR, inventory update, automated advices to shippers and more. A product order in a distributor’s Order Management module creates the picking and shipping tasks, the invoicing, shipment advices, captures all activity based costs and flows through to the TMS as a dispatch object for load building and populates payroll or AP with cost data. I suppose the real differentiator is that the product has evolved over the last 30 years based on the needs of our partners. More than ½ of our total partner base have been with us for 5-10 years with many partners still using the system after more than 20 years.

3. From a New Zealand point of view, businesses are forced to become more efficient and streamlined and they often think implementing new software comes at a significant cost, what advice would you give business that are thinking about new freight management or inventory systems.

The salesman in me would say don’t look at what it costs, look at what it saves. What value is put on having accurate inventory, efficient processes and absolute customer visibility of their inventory and orders? Look at the ‘soft savings’ of improved customer service, time spent reconciling or finding inventory, reduced loss through better date management and the myriad of other benefits and, once you understand those benefits, the price is easier to swallow.
From experience with many implementations I’d say there are two pieces of advice I’d offer: 1- Understand your true needs. Base your decisions on where you want the company to be in 3-5 years, not where it is today, and then select a partner who can not only grow with you but lead you to where you want to be. 2- Think outside the box, start with a clean sheet of paper and look at how your business should operate, not how it currently does. It is incredibly frustrating to me to go into a prospective customer and be told that they want a system that works just the way their current one does. Businesses are constrained by any system, overlaying the constraints of a new system on the business processes created by an old system is a recipe for disaster. Ignore how your business does operate – focus on how it should operate and find a solutions partner who can deliver what you need.

4. Getting the stock management right can often be a gamble, how do you get the right balance and minimize your risk.

Good data is the real key. Using RF systems are a great example of that. We find most of our paper based users have inventory accuracy of 95% +, most of our RF users are in the 99.9%+ bracket. Good processes and documented procedures with paper based activities can deliver remarkable results, as can rigorous management of cycle counts but that last few percent can really only come through moving decision control (and auditing) to the system.

5. Being involved in the logistics industry you would have seen the impact the recession has had on business, are you seeing signs of recovery?

I’d like to start by saying that this has been an interesting year. The downturn was born out of the USA’s domestic excesses and rolled around the world. Without downplaying the impact there, the effect in NZ, Australia and SE Asia has been less painful than here in the States. Our Australian customers seem to be further up the recovery curve than our US customers are, and didn’t dip as deep. But to answer your question, there are definitely positive signs. Our enquiry level has gone up significantly in the last 2-3 months and we have partners who are looking to expand their operations or their use of the system. The roll-out of automation and visibility tools within our user base is at an unprecedented level. I believe that this is a great sign for a sustainable recovery. Efficiency is king and our partners are spending to ensure that as volume returns their ability to react from a contained cost base will be assured.

6. Argos Software is truly international; tell us about some of your key successes

Our biggest success has been to grow the company organically without losing sight of our core values. We never want to be so big that we don’t know our customers. With one Global 500 customer and numerous Fortune 500 users we still listen to our small privately owned partners. Our customers range from under 5 million a year revenue base to many billions yet the President or I know every single person we deal with as a company, personally. We are based in the US but have an international user base. Both Alan and I are Australians and we travel extensively between our development offices in California and Sri Lanka. We never miss any opportunity to talk to our users, visit their sites and understand their issues. Those issues, along with technology advances, are the primary driver of our product development.

7. Thanks for your time Geoff, what does the future hold for Argo Software.

More of the same I hope (without the hiccup of the last year of course), continuous improvement to our product, a steady growth in our partner base and an extended reach into international markets. We would much rather get another 3-4 customers in Australia, gain a foothold into the NZ market and build on our 150+ customer base in the US than double our revenue every year and lose the service culture that made us what we are.

Geoff is Executive Director at Argos Software and spent 20 years as a Logistics Consultant in Australasia prior to joining them. For more information on Argos Software visit www.argosoftware.com