Sage 100 ERP Helps Overlake Oil Remain “All in the Family”

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration

The Challenge

Overlake Oil, a family-owned business in its third generation, was seeking to adopt the latest technology to streamline its operations. The company had computerized its business operations in 1982 with a UNIX-based system. However, by 1988, it had outgrown this system and needed to upgrade. The challenge was to find an accounting package that could seamlessly integrate with custom petroleum industry software. The company wanted more people to have access to the system and to be able to interface with Word, Excel, and the Internet. The company also wanted a system that could support its growth without requiring more staff.

About The Customer

Overlake Oil is a family-owned business based in Kirkland, Washington. The company is in its fifty-second year of business and third generation of family ownership. Founded by Harry Wright in 1947, Overlake has been a Shell affiliate since 1961, distributing Shell fuel and lubricants to commercial, industrial, and manufacturing companies. Steve Merrill, vice president, joined Overlake Oil in 1982. Several years later, Steve and his brother-in-law, Jim Jessen, began managing the business on their own. The company has one location and employs 13 people.

The Solution

Overlake Oil chose to implement Sage 100 ERP on a Novell network, customized for the petroleum industry by Steve Murphy at DM2 Software. Murphy had experience with both computer programming and the petroleum industry. He knew that the software programs available at that time could not provide a satisfactory system that accommodated both accounting functions and the special needs of the industry. Instead of starting from scratch to develop his own integrated accounting/petroleum package, Murphy decided to seek an existing accounting package and add his own petroleum component onto it. Murphy discovered that Sage 100 ERP met his criteria for flexibility and ease of use. Sage, the developer of Sage 100 ERP, and his company, DM2 Software, subsequently entered into a vertical market partnership. DM2 Software develops customized modules for the petroleum industry that seamlessly interface with Sage 100 ERP, providing a powerful package that offers petroleum distributors numerous business management advantages.

Operational Impact

The Sales Order module with DM2 modifications is the linchpin of Overlake Oil’s Sage 100 ERP system. When a customer calls in an order, the request is entered into the Sales Order module, a notice sent out to the delivery truck, an invoice generated, inventory relieved, and the general ledger updated. Reports and details on the customers, vendors, and inventory are always only a few keystrokes away.
Another key component for Overlake Oil is the Fuel Tax module. Since every state and locality has its own tax rate, and the price of fuel can change more than once a day, the Fuel Tax module is critical for keeping track of and accurately billing the differing rates. If an order is placed today and delivered next week, the billing may need to be updated to reflect a new price. Sage 100 ERP monitors this activity and modifies invoices accordingly.
The third and possibly most critical module for Overlake Oil is the Card Lock module. Card Lock might be compared to a bank credit card. Cards are issued by individual companies, such as Overlake Oil, but customers are not limited to obtaining fuel at only one location. They can insert the card and fuel up at any of the hundreds of sites around the country affiliated with Pacific Pride network. However, they are invoiced for all transactions by the company that issued their card.

Quantitative Benefit