Rex Group

The REX Group of Companies, as we at Infomace like to call it, comprises:

• Rex Industrial Equipment Ltd (Head Office in Glenfield, Auckland, and branches in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin)
• Spraypac (Auckland)
• Swinnocks (Auckland)
• Tasman Engineering (Auckland)
• Universal Handling (Auckland)
• G T Trailers (Auckland)
• Wholesale & Industrial Supplies (branches in Hamilton, Mt. Maunganui, Hastings and Hawera)

The Group’s Managing Director, Peter Blackett, believes that one of the important characteristics of the group is that each company has a long history with its own identity, reputation and customer relationships, and that this will continue. However, although they each once had their own computer systems, they now have a shared IT system for administration and accounts provided by Infomace International.

By sharing a common system, each company within the group gets more features and better service than any could afford independently. This allows standardisation with little maintenance, and the group employs no IT staff of its own. The monthly support fee keeps the system going for less than the cost of a single technician. This is a valuable saving when times are hard.

It is a simple system composed of distinct financial modules. These include:

• General Ledger
• Debtors
• Order Processing
• Sales Analysis
• Inventory

Peter says that excessive integration makes a system more complicated and difficult to use.

“90% of our users have never used a computer before, so simplicity is absolutely vital,” he says. “The computer is only a tool and should not take over the whole business. With Infomace, we have been able to put together a system that matches our real needs.”

For example, a full-blown CRM (Contact Relationship Management) system would be more trouble than it is worth. Instead, the company-specific features Peter commissioned for the Infomace Debtors module allows his sales force to enter details of prospective customers. Mail-outs and emails (the “silent salesmen” as Peter calls them) keep them in touch until they are ready to order.

When many companies share a common system, controls and security are especially important. This is achieved through a combination of logins, passwords and privileges. While most users have only data entry privileges within their own companies, top level managers like Peter get a consolidated view of the whole group.

Infomace is very proud of its long term relationship with the Group and our services go far beyond the tailored suite of Infomace Financial and Inventory modules. We also take responsibility for advising and working on the efficiency and performance of the whole networking, hardware and general I.T. set-up.

While Peter enjoys a “simple and easy to use” operation, behind the simplicity is a sophisticated suite of intricately designed and carefully integrated Information Technology.