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Fishbowl Manufacturing Helped to Define Employees' Roles and Standardize Their Operations
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
Applicable Industries
- Education
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
KidWind Project Inc., an educational organization, was facing several challenges related to inventory management and operational efficiency. The company had ill-defined job roles for employees and limited inventory-tracking capability. They were holding too much inventory in stock, leading to losses and inefficiency. Their existing system, QuickBooks, couldn’t handle their inventory and light manufacturing needs. Additionally, they needed inventory management software that integrates with QuickBooks and Magento, their online shopping platform. The lack of an effective inventory management system led to misplaced products, unnecessary expenses, and operational chaos.
About The Customer
The KidWind Project was created in 2002 by a former middle school teacher named Michael Arquin. The organization aims to help young students gain an appreciation for science and the environment by providing hands-on educational resources in the classroom. Since its inception, KidWind has worked with more than 800,000 students and 7,000 teachers across the U.S. and beyond. They offer classroom workshops, online tutorials, fun competitions, and many other tools to engage students and encourage them to explore alternative power sources and other scientific ideas. However, like most small businesses, KidWind used handwritten notes to keep track of its inventory for many years, leading to chaos and inefficiency.
The Solution
KidWind turned to Fishbowl Manufacturing, an inventory management solution, to address their challenges. Fishbowl helped to define employees’ roles and standardize their operations. The software is organized into very specific functions like Sales, Manufacturing, Purchasing, etc., which forced KidWind to clearly define everyone’s function. This helped improve the organizational health of the company. Fishbowl also automated their inventory management, replacing their paper-based system. They improved their build-to-order system, which reduced inventory costs significantly. Fishbowl also integrated with QuickBooks and Magento, updating accounting records instantly and receiving orders from the online platform. Fishbowl’s support team was also available to answer any questions and provide assistance when needed.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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