Customer Center, C3™, and Integration Server™ Provide Foundation of Second-Generation Web Storefront

The Gorman-Rupp Company (Gorman-Rupp) has gone live with TDCI's MAC-PAC XE eBusiness applications as the foundation of the company's second-generation web storefront. MAC-PAC XE Customer Center has been implemented along with the C3 Customer Centric Configuration solution to provide ordering and order status inquiry capabilities for Gorman-Rupp's custom-configured products. The new storefront will be used by Gorman-Rupp's dealers, distributors, selected end customers, and in-house customer service people. Initial customers were given access to the new site in late 2003, with more now being added on a steady basis.

Bill Danuloff, Gorman-Rupp Corporate Vice President for IT stated: “Enabling our customers to order configured products over the Internet is a big step forward since custom-configured products represent a large portion of our business. Not only does this make ordering Gorman-Rupp products much easier for customers, it also frees up our customer service people for more value-added functions.”

One example of how internal processes are being streamlined is the replacement of printed/mailed Sales Order Acknowledgements with electronic acknowledgements sent by TDCI Integration Server via e-mail. The XML acknowledgements are sent automatically, triggered by MAC-PAC XE Customer Center transactions.

Customer Center is a comprehensive web-based business-to-business sales and service application that helps companies increase sales, improve customer service and reduce costs. It effectively extends the power of MAC-PAC XE to the Internet by providing customers with the ability to browse, interact, configure, order, and monitor delivery – all on-line, whenever it is most convenient for them.

C3 is an easy to use and highly customizable web-based configuration solution that utilizes existing Expert Configurator (EC) rules. C3 is a powerful tool for increasing sales and reducing costs. It enables MAC-PAC XE users to effectively extend the power of EC-driven configuration to customers, channels, and sales people via the Internet and/or intranet. With intuitive web-based configuration, companies have the opportunity to reduce lead times, increase customer collaboration, replace paper catalogues with on-line access, reduce errors, and eliminate dual entry.

Tight integration with core MAC-PAC XE order management and manufacturing applications is one of the reasons Gorman-Rupp selected Customer Center and C3. Mr. Danuloff added: “The beauty of C3 is that it uses our existing Expert Configurator (EC) rules, but allows us to extend them in ways that make it very easy for end customers to understand and visualize product options. It also allows us to control the range of options available to end customers, dealers/distributors, field sales people, and customer service reps. The fact that Customer Center and C3 are already tightly integrated as part of MAC-PAC XE greatly reduces the complexity, time, and cost of providing these capabilities to our customers.”

The Gorman-Rupp Company is a leading manufacturer of pumps and pumping systems for the municipal, water, wastewater, sewage, industrial, construction, petroleum, fire and OEM markets. Pumps include self-priming centrifugal, centrifugal, submersible, trash, priming assist, rotary gear and air-driven diaphragm pumps. In addition, Gorman-Rupp manufactures a complete line of packaged lift stations and booster stations, which include pumps, motors, controls, piping, accessories and enclosures.

Headquartered in Mansfield , Ohio , The Gorman-Rupp Company has been a MAC-PAC user since 1996. In addition to headquarters and manufacturing locations in Mansfield , Gorman-Rupp uses MAC-PAC XE at manufacturing/distribution locations in Bellville , Ohio ; Sand Springs , Oklahoma ; Sparks , Nevada ; and St. Thomas , Ontario , Canada.