Oliner Fibre
Oliner Fibre, a Reference Systems customer since 1994, knows a little bit about growth.
The company was started by Leo Oliner in 1910 as a fibreboard distributor. Initially serving the New York market, Oliner Fibre is now a truly national and international company, selling its products to many countries around the world. This enterprise has grown from a small factory on Wooster Street in Manhattan to a larger plant in Brooklyn, and now to its 40,000 square foot facility in Union, NJ. Now being operated by the third generation of the Oliner family, Oliner Fibre has grown to carry six product lines, targeting a variety of industries including luggage and case makers, automotive parts manufacturers, and loose leaf binder manufacturers.
Before Macola was implemented at this 22-employee facility, there existed a patchwork of store bought software and custom written programs. According to Vice President Andrew Oliner, "The old system was not very trustworthy. We had to keep manual records for inventory to back up what was put into the system."
When Reference Systems was brought in, Andrew Oliner knew things had changed…for the better.
"RSI and Macola really has helped us get a handle on our inventory," he says. "Perhaps more importantly, Progression also allowed us to address another major concern at the time, and that was a cash flow problem relating to the bankruptcy of one of our larger customers. By running Progression in conjunction with GETPAID®, a collections and deduction management software solution, we have been able to remedy what was a very serious problem."
Another aspect that has been improved is Oliner Fibre's customer service efforts.
"With Macola, we can address issues with customers while they are on the phone," Andrew Oliner says. "We can tell whether or not a certain item is in stock, and provide extremely accurate costing."
Oliner Fibre's relationship with Reference Systems, Inc. (RSI) has been very positive.
"RSI was helpful in teaching us to get the most out of the program, really tailoring Macola to fit our needs, instead of having us change to fit the package," Andrew Oliner explains. "That is one of the main reasons we selected them to implement the system. They have very strong capabilities in a lot of areas."
Currently, Oliner Fibre is running Progression Series 7.5. Modules being used on the Novell network and Windows 95 operating system include Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, Payroll, Inventory Management, Order Entry, Purchase Order & Receiving, Bill of Material, and Production Order Processing.
Looking back, Andrew Oliner is very glad his company chose Macola, stating that, "If we had not implemented Progression 6.0, we might not be in business today."