Click-4-Pickup

Innovation comes in many forms. New tools to increase employee and client connectivity have elevated Trachsel Dental Studio service to a new level.

Dependable products, a fair price and exemplary customer service have been the core values of Trachsel Dental Studio for over 50 years. As a dental laboratory, their clients are dentists who need crowns, bridges, dentures, partials, on-site milling, 3D printing and scanning. Call their office and in two rings or less, a Trachsel associate will answer and take action on your request. Need a mold or broken denture picked up in Southeast Minnesota, a Trachsel driver responds promptly to personally pick up the request and then hand-deliver the finished product. Need emergency and early hour service, technicians work 4:30 AM to 5:00 PM on all types of dentist's requests.

How do you improve upon this level of personal service? Jacob Trachsel, a 3rd generation Trachsel associate, envisioned an even more responsive way to deliver client service by going digital. Rather than responding to phone calls, logging pick-up requests by hand, then alerting drivers by phone of urgent requests, Jacob wanted an automated process to speed service and increase staff productivity. He knew what he wanted, but needed a software expert to bring his Click-4-Pickup concept to life.

This is where I enter the story. At VACAVA, we take the time to understand the objectives of a request, then dig deep into the details to ensure all of the automation opportunities are being considered. Jacob wanted his local clients to be able to send pick-up notifications through the Trachsel Dental Studio website. Would clients want to also order supplies via the website? Should office staff be able to initiate a pick-up? This is the level of detail and types of questions that can expand the business value of a solution. We collaborated with Jacob to develop a solution that would immediately deliver value and set the base for future innovation.

With the new software, clients now request pickups with two simple clicks from a webpage. All Trachsel associates, drivers and office, have immediate access to client requests from any device 24/7. If a driver is near the requesting dentist, pickup may take place within minutes. Office staff monitor client requests and driver pickups to plan workload and respond to urgent requests.

Dentist offices rave about the new Click-4-Pickup. The process is simple, the quick pickup a differentiator, and the anytime, anywhere access enables dentists with extended hours to submit requests outside of Trachsel's business hours. The new software enables Trachsel associates to be more effective and responsive. Drivers can plan their routes more efficiently and speed response to urgent requests. In the office, online Click-4-Pickup requests eliminated 3600 calls during the first 5 months of use. This dramatically reduced the time office staff spent answering phones, that time is now focused on other tasks.

"The response from our clients has been incredible. We have increased our value to clients beyond my expectations. With VACAVA's software expertise, we have a solution that delivers upon our vision for business process transformation and sets the foundation for future innovation." Jacob Trachsel, CAD/CAM & Business Development, Trachsel Dental Studio.

Operate more efficiently and effectively with a custom software solution from the experts at VACAVA. We collaborate with you to understand your objectives and issues, define possible solutions, then deliver a software solution focused exactly on your needs. Let us show you how the right software can accelerate your goals.

VACAVA is a custom software development company. Visit us at www.vacava.com/custom or contact me today and let's talk about custom software to advance your goals.

Improved Inventory Control Increases Operating Performance

A lack of inventory control can impede any organization, large or small. A large multinational energy corporation, operating in 180 countries, was having difficulty controlling their inventory of operating parts and equipment that supported their exploration, production, manufacturing and transportation operations.

The company had difficulty assessing and auditing operating inventory across their worldwide matrix of warehouses and third-party vendors. Instead of maintaining a single inventory system and procedure, multiple independent processes were employed based on the warehouse location and size. The lack of a cohesive inventory system was adversely affecting business operations when critical parts could not be easily located and shipped. Operating units would have to call warehouses and vendors until they found the needed part, slowing or stopping an operation until the part was delivered. Additionally, without a single view of worldwide inventory, parts were not evenly dispersed across geographies which could add to the difficulty of locating a critical part, increasing operation down-time.

The energy giant turned to VACAVA for a custom inventory control solution that would streamline access to operating inventory, yet accommodate the requirement for different inventory systems across worldwide warehouses and vendors. The new inventory solution consolidates warehouse and vendor inventory information uploaded in various formats and synchronized in one location as a master inventory database. Now, when a critical need arises, the operating unit is not dependent upon phone calls to the closest warehouses. Units have immediate access to the worldwide inventory master database and can quickly request parts from any location. This custom VACAVA solution has enabled a single master inventory database that is the "trusted source" of information without sacrificing the well understood local solutions for inventory tracking. This single view of all inventory has also enabled better worldwide physical and cost management.

Tightening control of critical operating inventory, as well as product inventory, can deliver real financial benefits to a business. If you have considered packaged inventory control systems but have been discouraged by their cost or lack of flexibility, contact VACAVA to see how affordable a custom solution can be.

VACAVA, Inc.

VACAVA's mission is to deliver high-quality, affordable, custom applications that allow companies to re-engineer their existing processes and operate more efficiently and effectively. VACAVA's solutions are tailored exactly to the needs of the organization, allowing us to work with companies of all sizes, from fledgling ventures to Fortune 500 companies.

The Top of the Cloud: Where clear software solutions to daily issues exist

After years of working with many customers, it's clear that the need for efficient, affordable business solutions remains a common requirement for small, medium and large companies.

Departments in medium and large businesses can't always rely on their IT departments to deliver solutions they need in a timely manner. In addition, smaller businesses that don't have IT departments have difficulty finding solutions that are robust, yet affordable. In many ways, it doesn't matter whether you're a large or small company, the need for solutions are similar; you need affordable solutions, now.

That's what the cloud is all about.

There are many definitions of what the cloud is. Some view the cloud as just another hosting environment as compared to others who view it as a complex set of virtual servers automatically provisioned and scaled to meet increasing computing demands. While both are true depending on your perspective, I have found that the cloud is best used to solve business problems quickly and affordably -- solutions that require an application to improve a business process or address a new opportunity.

I help customers focus on the "top of the cloud". This is where clear software solutions to daily issues exist, solutions that are ready to go in minutes, not days or weeks. When a custom solution is required it can be created and used in a time that maximizes return on investment as well.

At the "top of the cloud" software solutions are:

Ready to Use -- Within minutes your application can be available to use. No contracts or commitments required, meaning you pay only for what you use.

Ready to Modify -- Some solutions will not only provide you with the application, but will also make the source code available which allows application modification and integration within existing business practices.

Ready to Customize -- When a custom solution is need, development in the cloud is quicker and more cost effective because it does not require acquisition of onsite physical resources and set up of unique physical development and testing environments. By simply provisioning cloud resources, within minutes developers are ready to work on your solution.

I've been very fortunate during 30+ years in information technology to work in several different areas of this ever-changing industry. Through all the change, one thing has remained constant: computer systems exist to provide businesses with the tools they need to run productively and efficiently. Today customers and I complete these tasks at the "top of the cloud".

Contact me today to learn how VACAVA Inc. can advance your organization.

Image of Terry

Terry Bird, Vacava, Inc.

Terry Bird, founder and managing partner of VACAVA Inc., has more than 30 years of experience delivering customized solutions that help businesses prepare for growth and reduce complexities.

VACAVA’s mission, since its founding in 1996, has been to deliver high-quality, custom applications that allow companies to reengineer their existing processes and operate more efficiently and effectively. VACAVA’s solutions are tailored exactly to the needs of the organization, allowing it to work with companies of all sizes, from fledgling ventures to Fortune 500 companies. VACAVA’s process is highly intuitive and user-centric, a hybrid of Agile Software Development and rapid application development enhanced by proprietary rapidBIZ application development tools.

Terry joined VACAVA from IBM, bringing with him a keen knowledge of how technology can be leveraged to solve problems and create opportunities. He was a leader in the application of artificial intelligence-based tools to simplify and accelerate the configuration and ordering of IBM hardware. Additionally, he managed worldwide IBM Partners relationships and technology development, which gave him insight into the ways in which providers can work with their clients to integrate new technology to create business opportunities and robust growth

Terry’s experience with VACAVA is also informed by his time spent with the United States Armed Forces. Directly out of school, he began his career in technology as part of the US Navy’s submarine service, participating in the sorts of missions that are the stuff of fictional stories. As the Sonar Supervisor, he was in part responsible for the ship’s safety, which prepared him well for a career in detailed and evidence-based decision-making.

With his experience across a wide range of markets and industries, Terry is uniquely positioned to help businesses improve their effectiveness, and to explain to them the myriad ways in which technological solutions can enhance their operations. However, VACAVA’s commitment to helping goes beyond its customers. The company participates in the local chapter of Make-A-Wish and works with Social Services in Rochester to provide work experience to handicapped individuals.

A music-lover, Terry can often be found playing his instrument of choice, the Soprano sax, in church.