Jewelry Manufacturing and Distribution

Overview

EXEControl Global Solutions, established in 1967, is a leader in information technology for small and mid-size businesses. Its experienced team of consultants, engineers and technicians provide all products and services necessary to deliver and maintain mission critical information systems and management decision support. EXEControl Global Solutions provides software design, development, implementation, training, support, and ongoing consulting. EXEControl software is the most flexible and feature rich software available to enable its customers to truly differentiate from competitors.

Special Considerations of the Jewelry Industry

EXEControl Global Solutions delivers a complete software solution for companies in the jewelry industry. This includes Importers, Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors, and Retailers, or a vertically integrated combination of all of the above. EXEControl also handles virtual extensions of the jewelry supply chain that may include outsourced or contracted trading partners. Our company and product philosophy is centered on concepts at the foundation of the jewelry industry that include security, control, velocity, and profitability. EXEControl has been the most logical choice for the jewelry industry since 1988.

Purchasing

Purchasing activities may range from single piece special order jewelry to large stock jewelry purchases to outside services such as engraving, certifications and repairs. It is also necessary to procure manufacturing components such as diamonds, gemstones, precious metals and findings. Stone purchasing for manufacturing can be complex to coordinate. With EXEControl, this complex process is simplified. For example, a buyer creates a purchase order requesting the general number, type, size, cut, and weight of stones desired. The vendor sends a mixed parcel that may or may not coincide with the original purchase order. The stones arrive as un-graded inventory and are sent to be internally graded. Once graded, a determination is made as to which stones will be kept and which will be returned. A return receipt is entered for the rejected stones, automatically generating the necessary return paperwork, while the accepted stones are automatically received as graded items.

Importing

EXEControl is ready to handle your buyers that travel the world resulting in vendors sending gemstones without an existing purchase order. EXEControl simplifies the process for an in-house purchasing person to handle the related purchasing formalities in a single process. This includes one-step purchase orders, invoices, and receipt accounting.

Manufacturing

EXEControl coordinates and supports the entire manufacturing process from planning and scheduling of production, which considers availability of raw metals and alloys, gemstones, casting molds, equipment capabilities, and craftsmen. It provides prioritization of daily workloads for maximum efficiency, and activity based costing for precise real-time awareness of variances of planned versus actual components of cost. Quality control is supported with work instructions and measurements for variables of product and process. Item and lot tracking can provide uninterrupted visibility of components. From supplier to end customer, you will know where every lot and/or serialized component is and where it was. Inventory analysis may be aggregated or disaggregated by design and metal. Product life-cycles are accurately managed through the design center to handle new or discontinued styles.

Distribution

EXEControl plans and manages physical distribution as well as transactions for individual shipments to ensure maximum efficiency and velocity in the flow of material to customers, retail locations, or contracted value-added service providers. EXEControl generates customs documentation for raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods shipments going anywhere in the world.

Merchandising

A critical function for jewelry wholesalers, distributors, and retailers is the process of merchandising. A merchandiser ensures that each store receives the right mix of stock jewelry at the right time to maximize sales and profits. This is both an art and a science as no two stores are exactly alike, and consumer trends are subject to change without notice. EXEControl has revolutionized the merchandising function by providing unprecedented levels of responsiveness and time saving management controls. EXEControl provides centralized, immediate situational awareness of under-performing or over-performing items, vendors, product categories, store classes, and more. Precise responsive action will then simultaneously maximize efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Purchasing and distribution of stock jewelry to store locations can be consolidated into one single step. For example, buyers are able to specify line item distribution quantities and store locations in the purchase order or during the receiving process. As goods are received, transfer orders and retail bar code and price labels are automatically generated to move the material to the selected retail stores. Any undistributed quantities are automatically received into wholesale inventory.

Inventory Management

EXEControl supports the velocity in inventory turnover needed to maximize profitability. For example one jewelry industry customer maintains data on over 350,000 inventory items, and it is not uncommon for that figure to increase by 1,000 additional items in a single week. Smart item (SKU#) sequencing enables easy item recognition for employees. Parcel management capability maintains trace-ability and visibility to parcels of gemstones. Memo and consignment inventory is properly accounted. Joxing to work orders simultaneously provides for accounting by the number of pieces as well as the weight of gemstones. Electronic scales can be integrated to streamline this process.

Multi-mode Retail Management

EXEControl supports retail jewelry chains that can be comprised of both company owned and franchisee owned stores so that an equal caliber of customer service, efficiency, and management decision support may be maintained regardless of ownership. The system is able to appropriately handle all issues appropriately, most notably financial, managerial accounting, and inventory merchandising. EXEControl ensures that standard stock orders, special orders, and repair orders receive immediate visibility and careful coordination. All orders maintain up-to-date status and real-time tracking.

Point of Sale (POS)

Customer sale transaction screens are conducive to providing a superior sales order customer experience through the use of touch screens. Inventory in transit or located at other stores is readily visible. Bar code sale tags are easily read and generated when needed. Standard Retail Customer Relationship Management (rCRM) features enable chain-wide visibility to customer notes, preferences, purchase histories, wish-lists, promotional opt-ins, and mailings. Customer layaways, layaway invoices, and layaway payment processing are well supported. EXEControl also supports Gift Card and loyalty programs, as well as direct store to customer credit and collections activities with the performance and tools one would expect from specialized banking software. Sales commissions are correctly calculated. Physical inventory counting and cycle counting tasks are simplified through the in-store inventory counting processes.

Analysis and Management Reporting

EXEControl is a completely integrated system that produces real-time analytical information in every facet of the company from comparative sales analysis to inventory efficiency to production labor and material reporting. It provides the ability to drill down from summary to transactional level detail in any area of the organization to answer any question at any time. The result is continuous feedback and continuous improvement to profitability and customer service.