Seeking unified operations, Woodcraft Supply retools with new Microsoft Dynamics AX solution

As one of the nation's oldest and largest suppliers of woodworking tools and supplies, Woodcraft Supply, LLC, entered its 86^th year in business feeling the need to unify information and processes - for the benefit of the organization and its customers. "Our old ERP solution was a conglomerate of systems and was becoming more of a hurdle and hindrance than a help," says Ryan Knost, director of business applications and technology.

"We decided to pull the trigger this year and upgrade to something that would give us more opportunities in the future," says Knost, whose list of potential software candidates didn't initially include Dynamics AX. "We thought that it was more than we really needed," he explains. "We heard from a few [users] who were impressed with AX, but it just seemed big."

Then Knost's department received two recommendations for its new ERP - one came from a former employee and the other from Woodcraft's auditors. "They both suggested Dynamics AX," says Knost. "We got in touch with the company, saw a demo, and we were hooked." One of the key selling points for AX, says Knost, was the fact that Woodcraft was already a Microsoft development shop for its in-house solutions. "Because of our familiarity with Microsoft solutions," he says, "we thought AX would be a good fit."

Harnessing the Power

With over 21,000 items available for sale, 14,000 of which it keeps in stock, Woodcraft ships to all 50 U.S. states plus 117 foreign countries. Founded in 1928, the company annually distributes 1.5 million catalogs featuring more than 8,000 items. Woodcraft is currently rolling out AX to optimize its order processing capabilities and business processes. According to a recent ...