Steltix helps Keune Haircosmetics streamline its JD Edwards implementation and support in anticipation of international expansion.
From a family-owned company that pioneered the perm formula in 1922 to the multinational supplier of premium hairstylist products it is today, Keune Haircosmetics is the classic example of a niche business whose success depends on scaling without compromising quality or tradition. Now, as Keune Haircosmetics enters an era of unprecedented international expansion, it is utilizing Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.1 and Oracle Platinum Partner Steltix to evolve its IT practices for where the company is headed, not where it’s already been.
“We were looking for an open-minded system integrator for JD Edwards, Steltix had a good feel for what our organization needs and how to adjust our JD Edwards configuration accordingly.”
The art of hair design has never been compromised–every Keune Haircosmetics product is still developed and manufactured in the company’s laboratory and factory in the Netherlands. As branch offices open across Europe and the United States and warehousing and shipping facilities grow in size and complexity, Keune Haircosmetics’ director George Keune invests in the latest IT solutions to make sure customer relationships aren’t compromised, either. Upgrading to the latest JD Edwards release to streamline the services that manage distribution channels is critical to the company’s expansion.
“Moving over to the newest version of JD Edwards is an indispensible step for future organizational changes in relation to a warehouse management systems (WMS) upgrade, customer relationship management (CRM) application implementation, and meeting new banking module standards for the European Union,” says Keune.
A Collaborative, Cost-Effective Partner
In his search for a partner to help upgrade his company’s IT systems, Keune sought a team that had a track record for running JD Edwards applications on virtual servers and could offer the complete range of services, including functional consultancy, technical consultancy, and a helpdesk. Keune selected Steltix to manage both implementation and support. Steltix had a deep history providing clients with enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions specifically focused on JD Edwards. “We were looking for an open-minded system integrator for JD Edwards,” says Keune. “Steltix had a good feel for what our organization needs and how to adjust our JD Edwards configuration accordingly.”
Methodical Updates and Implementation
Steltix’s phased approach and expertise with JD Edwards implementations allows Keune Haircosmetics to efficiently channel consulting resources where they are needed most. Each step to implementation is carefully mapped, drawing upon a process that’s been refined over 10 years of doing JD Edwards-specific work. Repetitive tasks associated with new installations are streamlined through Version Workbench, an Oracle Validated Integration that allows configurations to be copied, mass updated, and merged into new installations with the click of a button.
Today, Keune Haircosmetics’ once aging and fragmented WMS, CRM system, output management products, and data warehousing systems are integrated under a highly adaptable JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.1 configuration, so Keune’s IT staff no longer has to maintain third-party relationships isolated from the core IT structure. They can also take full advantage of the Related Information Application Framework for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne to allow for more continuity in information and navigation between programs. With the joint power of JD Edwards and Steltix’s tailored implementation, Keune Haircosmetics is leveraging built-in functionality to better serve customers—and doing it at a quarter of the cost.
Efficiency through Automation
Automation of repetitive activities is one of the features that makes Steltix’s solutions around JD Edwards more cost-effective—but it’s also what makes its support practice so powerful. Automated tools are constantly querying and reviewing databases for technical issues, verifying certain values are at specific states. When they’re not, the system automatically corrects problems or enables Steltix to alert customers that they have an issue before the customer knows the issue exists.
“Steltix really tries to understand our business, which enables them to come up with practical solutions to our problems. Sometimes the proposed solutions are surprisingly simple and cost-effective,” Keune says.