Seeing the benefits on screen

Photo courtesy of Heartland Growers

ADVERTORIAL

Servicing both small and larger garden centers, Heartland Growers prides themselves on being one of the most modern facilities in Westfield, Ind. With the motto of great quality and customer service, they required a software provider that would fully support their needs, including accurate inventory results at a click of the button. Their relationship with Practical Software Solutions helps them do exactly that.

Since taking over the business in 1984, the company has expanded exponentially to supply annuals, mums and poinsettias to some of the big-box garden centers in North America including those at Lowe’s, Kroger and Costco.

“Before Practical Software Solutions, our production and sales software was not able to interact with our inventory and accounting software,” says Nick Gapinski, CEO of Heartland Growers. “As we grew as a company, the gap between these entities became more frustrating.”

Heartland Growers was investing significant time, energy and finances reconciling their production inventory and sales with accounting. The inefficiencies in their software systems took precious time away from other areas of business like staffing that needed attention. “Our greatest asset is our people and without them, our longevity and growth would not be possible,” Gapinski says. They needed a software system that not only brought all of the pieces together but would help them grow into the future.

Recognizing that they needed a better system, Heartland Growers began actively looking for a software solution. They reached out to Practical Software Solutions after seeing and hearing about the results that the company had recently achieved at Metrolina Greenhouses in North Carolina. “We were blown away with their presentation and attentiveness to our needs,” Gapinski says. “Their level of customized customer service really made an impact on us.”

Heartland Growers began the conversion with their sales and accounting software and eventually moved to production and inventory. Throughout the conversion, Practical Software Solutions showed support by explaining how their solutions could help manage their internal processes. “The results were immediate and amazing,” Gapinski says. “What used to take us a couple days to accomplish can now be done in minutes.” Instead of spending days reconciling inventories, employees were able to focus on critical areas including improving the overall customer experience.

The software synergized all of their departments allowing Heartland Growers to share critical information across the company. At the same time, the management team is now able to analyze critical information that could be used drive both growth and profitability. “I would definitely recommend [to] a company to talk with Practical Software Solutions and see if they are a fit for your company,” Gapinski says. “The benefits on the other side are significant.” — Anne-Marie Hardie