Consulting Services That Helped W.A. DeHart, Inc. 

Working With American Management Services:

We recently concluded the consulting phase of our project with American Management Services. The survey and consulting project conducted by your team at American Management Services has positioned our company for a very bright future.

Your Consultant, Jim Linkenauger, helped us implement and plan the implementation of initiatives that we expect to return in excess of $1,300,000 over the next three years. This far exceeds the cost of the project.

Among the major accomplishments of the consulting project was to improve our inventory performance by establishing perpetual inventories and utilizing our computer system more effectively to purchase product. This has reduced our inventory investment and lost sales due to out-of-stock situations.

During the project, we also implemented significant improvements to our marketing strategy, sales management, and accountability for sales performance. Our cigarette and tobacco business has been declining over the years due to market conditions beyond our control. Through improved sales management and other changes made during the project, we have been able to focus our sales staff on our higher gross product lines. This has allowed us to compensate for tobacco sales reductions and improve our profitability.

American Management Services recommended that we improve our financial management as well. We hired a competent Controller for our company. We created a budget and significantly improved our accounting systems so that we do not have to rely on our accountants to give us reports. We now publish monthly financial statements to gauge our performance against our goals. Linkenauger provided insightful guidance during this transition. His understanding and implementation of QuickBooks proved invaluable during this process.

We implemented improved credit and collection procedures during the project as well. We established a credit manager to provide better follow-up of aged accounts. This has been responsible for a significant improvement in our collections and cash flow.