How the Murray Group upgraded their three aggregate locations

        The Murray Group Limited is a family-owned aggregate and paving business that has been in operation for 125 years. They own two gravel pits, and have their main headquarters in Moorefield.

        In searching for prospects for their software, Slofstra Software Inc. (SSI) contacted The Murray Group and learned that the company was unsatisfied with the software they were currently using. The program was only running at one of The Murray Group's three locations. The Murray Group wanted to upgrade so that all three of their locations were using the same software, but because their current software was an older product, and no longer supported by their software vendor, the cost to upgrade all locations to new versions was too high. And so, The Murray Group decided to meet with SSI and learn more about what SSI's software had to offer.

        The Murray Group was in need of an updated and more comprehensive ticketing and billing system. What SSI had to offer was SHIP, an integrated software application which dispatches and monitors trucks, prints a weigh-scale ticket, and collects information for billing purposes. SHIP could be applied to all three of The Murray Group's locations, bringing all their operations up on the same system. It could also be integrated to The Murray Group's existing Job Costing, General Ledger, and Accounts Receivable program, CONAC. After a process of discussion, analysis, and a presentation, The Murray Group concluded that SHIP would provide an appropriate upgrade, and contracted SSI.

        The first step of the implementation of SHIP into The Murray Group's system was to do a business process analysis to determine any custom programming requirements that The Murray Group would need, as well as discuss the programming and installation process.

        Once the process was mapped out, SSI could begin programming, designing a database layout, and setting up the system in The Murray Group's office. To improve efficiency by saving travel time and money, SSI did all of the primary programming and testing of The Murray Group's specific SHIP software at SSI's own office in St. Jacobs. Once the software was complete and secure, SSI could begin the physical installation on site.

        SHIP is a distributed database, maintained centrally and then synchronized to the remote locations, so the installation process began with the central server, then extended out to the other locations. Having a database that is controlled through a central server provides a significant advantage, as it assures that all the information throughout the company is consistent. For The Murray Group, every night, the central system was scheduled to pull all updates from the remote sites automatically, or the update could be done with a simple push of a button during the day.

        Once the programming was complete, and the SHIP system was successfully running, The Murray Group began realising the benefits of the new system. The process at every one of their sites could be run automatically, saving considerable time and energy that had been used in the past for manual entry of all the tickets.

        A further benefit of the SHIP system for The Murray Group has been that even once the system was fully functional, SSI has remained easily contactable. If support issues arise, such as problems caused by lightning strikes or power outages, SSI staff are available to fix the problem. And, as needed, aspects of the program can be updated, and new ideas can be added, as business conditions change.