Microsoft Business Solutions
Partner Solution Case Study
Consultant Helps Healthcare and Distribution
Firms Compete with Flexible ERP Solution
Overview
Country: United States
Industry: Information Technology
Partner Profile
Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C.
(EHTC) is a regional accounting and
business services firm in Michigan. The
firm’s technology group provides
midmarket enterprise resource planning
solutions.
Business Situation
Distribution and healthcare companies rely
on EHTC for help in integrating accounting
and distribution systems that increase
efficiency, while supporting specialized
needs and business models.
Solution
EHTC uses Microsoft® Business Solutions—
Solomon to automate workflows, integrate
business processes, and address all of its
clients’ unique accounting and distribution
requirements.
Benefits
 Saving time and reducing costs
 Increasing efficiency
 Enhancing competitiveness
 Creating opportunities for partners
“When companies choose industry-specific software,
the message they usually get is ‘You need to do
business this way.’ Microsoft Solomon, by contrast,
lets companies do business their own way.”
David Echelbarger, Director of Technology Solutions, Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C.
Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C. (EHTC), a regional
Michigan accounting and consulting firm that also offers
information technology (IT) consulting, helps midmarket healthcare
and distribution firms revamp their accounting and distribution
systems. Customers turn to EHTC to improve their efficiency, and
because they find that industry software cannot support their
unique business methods or provide the detailed data they need.
By using Microsoft® Business Solutions–Solomon, EHTC delivers
customized enterprise resource planning systems to its clients.
Microsoft Solomon cut one client’s order-to-shipment time from
hours to minutes, helped another customer close its financial
books weeks earlier than before, and aided other clients to update
processes and tailor them to their business practices. EHTC’s own
business has also grown with this flexible solution.
“We are realistic with
our clients. We won’t
promise more than we
can deliver. And we tell
them that no other
midmarket ERP software
comes close to
Microsoft Solomon.”
David Echelbarger, Directory of Technology
Solutions, Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm &
Co., P.C.
Situation
Founded in 1977, Echelbarger, Himebaugh,
Tamm & Co., P.C. (EHTC) is a regional
accounting and consulting firm that serves
customers throughout Michigan. Experiencing
consistent growth since its inception, EHTC
has expanded beyond traditional accountingrelated services to offer additional business
services through its Technology Solutions
division.
A Microsoft® Certified Business Solutions
Partner, EHTC helps midmarket companies—
especially distributors and healthcare
organizations—improve the efficiency and
management of their business processes.
The EHTC Technology Solutions group
provides consulting services that include
networking and systems administration,
custom programming, e-commerce
development, database design, project
management, and enterprise resource
planning (ERP). “We look at our customers’
needs and find solutions that can be adapted
for the way they do business,” says David
Echelbarger, Director of Technology Solutions
for EHTC.
Inefficient Workflow
Many companies turn to EHTC for help after
they encounter inefficiencies in processing
sales orders, managing inventories, or
handling purchase orders. Often, these
customers struggle with outdated software,
cumbersome manual methods, and lengthy
reporting processes. As a result, they cannot
operate efficiently or respond quickly to their
customers’ demands.
For example, one catalog distributor
contacted EHTC to update its order-fulfillment
software. Developed internally, the decadeold software could handle the order-entry
process but couldn’t link to the marketing or
financial processes. Employees had to
manually update inventory records, and
customer service representatives found it
difficult to determine if an ordered item was
in stock. In addition, shipments were delayed
because customers’ credit cards could not be
verified until after an order had been filled at
the warehouse. Employees frequently had to
rekey information into production, credit card,
purchasing, and shipping systems, creating
the potential for errors.
More complications arose when the
distributor offered special promotions that
required the bundling of different items. For
example, if the company offered a kit
including stationery and two pens, the
distributor had to create the kits in advance
and assign a separate stock-keeping unit
(SKU) number to the kit to track sales.
Because the company assembled kits based
on estimated sales, it often had too many or
too few kits in stock. During peak times,
overwhelmed employees had to work 10
extra hours per week filling orders.
Specialized Business Needs
Customers seek the help of EHTC when their
current software proves inadequate for their
accounting requirements. For example, one
client, a healthcare organization, had more
than 35 affiliates at different locations in
Michigan and needed to show profits and
allocate overhead by physician, location, and
type of service. Without an efficient system to
handle its complex accounting requirements,
the organization took weeks to close the
financial books for its board of directors.
Most EHTC customers want control over the
order process to address customer-mandated
requirements or other specialized needs. For
example, one EHTC client, an industrial parts
distributor, needed to meet a customer’s
demand to bill once a month, with invoices
sorted by purchase order number. Another
distributor wanted to modify its workflow to
produce international shipping documents
automatically, based on shipping and freight
“The most important
advantage this solution
gives us is the ability to
focus on something we
do well, driving our own
success, while helping
our customers achieve
their own goals.”
David Echelbarger, Directory of Technology
Solutions, Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm &
Co., P.C.
terms. Industry-standard software did not
meet these customer requirements.
Solution
For its midmarket customers using inefficient
processes or software that does not address
their unique business needs, EHTC
recommends Microsoft Business Solutions–
Solomon. Because Microsoft Solomon offers
several modules, customers license only the
ones they require, which can then be easily
customized.
Workflow Automation
For distribution companies, such as the
previously mentioned catalog distributor,
EHTC typically installs the order management,
inventory, and the application server in
Microsoft Solomon as the core of the
solution. EHTC finds that distributors are
often unaware of the ways in which a fully
integrated system will benefit them. After they
discover the advantages, however, they
become strong proponents of Microsoft
Solomon.
Profit and Cost Allocations
EHTC provided a completely automated
process for the healthcare organization that
shows the profitability by each office and
physician and allocates overhead costs for
multiple locations. EHTC used the Microsoft
Solomon software modules for general
ledger, accounts receivable, and accounts
payable and Microsoft Business Solutions for
Analytics–FRx® Professional for financial
report writing to create the solution. Microsoft
Solomon made it easy to integrate the rules
to determine the assignment of profits and
costs required by the organization.
Support for Specialized Business Needs
By using the extensive customizations of
Microsoft Solomon, EHTC creates order
workflows and processes specific to each
client. The flexibility of Microsoft Solomon
helps EHTC meet individual client needs—
from distributors that want to automate
order-fulfillment or shipping to clients that
need to bill at a specific time, or sort invoices,
according to their own customers’ demands.
For example, the catalog distributor initially
asked for a system that would integrate its
general ledger, accounts payable, and
accounts receivable. But when the company
saw what Microsoft Solomon could do, it
decided to integrate its distribution solution
as well. By implementing Microsoft Solomon,
which includes custom order capabilities,
EHTC automated the catalog distributor’s
entire workflow.
Benefits
EHTC also created an application for the
catalog company that verifies a credit card
upon receipt of an order. A bar-code scanner
now installed in the warehouse automatically
enters the record of shipped items into the
database and generates an invoice from the
shipping records.
Saving Time and Reducing Costs
Microsoft Solomon delivers clear advantages
to EHTC clients. Microsoft Solomon helped
the catalog distributor reduce the time to fill
orders, which increased efficiency and saved
money. In the previous environment, fulfilling
orders involved many manual processes that
interrupted workflow, delayed shipments, and
burdened the company with overtime costs in
periods of high demand.
EHTC customers report that Microsoft
Solomon improves the efficiency of their
processes, saves time and payroll costs, and
supports their unique business practices.
“We are realistic with our clients,”
Echelbarger says. “We won’t promise more
than we can deliver. And we tell them that no
other midmarket ERP software comes close
to Microsoft Solomon.”
“In many cases, the
application server can
save a company the
equivalent of one fulltime employee—just by
eliminating manual
tasks.”
David Echelbarger, Directory of Technology
Solutions, Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm &
Co., P.C.
Now the entire process is completely
automated and moves smoothly without
delays. Credit cards are automatically verified
when the order is placed, and the bar-code
scanner in the shipping department updates
inventory automatically, as well. Customer
service representatives can glance at a
computer screen and know immediately
whether an item is in stock.
Orders can now be assembled, packaged,
and made ready for shipment within 15
minutes. Overtime has been eliminated,
saving the company thousands of dollars per
year. And because the order fulfillment
process is integrated with the catalog
distributor’s financial systems, there is no
need to rekey data—reducing staff time and
errors. With the new system, the catalog
distributor assembles special promotional
kits on demand—no one needs to build them
in advance or guess how many customers will
order, which also saves time and money.
EHTC finds that its customers appreciate the
additional savings that the application server
in Microsoft Solomon provides. The
application server makes it possible to
offload the execution of some processes from
the server hosting the Microsoft Solomon
software to other computers on the network.
For one distributor, EHTC set up the
application server to fax, send e-mail
messages, or mail invoices to the
distributor’s clients, depending on their
preferences.
The distributor saved U.S.$6,000 in mailing
costs in the first year. EHTC can also set up
the application server to generate sales
reports, eliminating the need to compile them
by hand. “In many cases, the application
server can save a company the equivalent of
one full-time employee—just by eliminating
manual tasks,” says Echelbarger.
Increasing Efficiency
EHTC helped the healthcare organization that
needed to allocate costs by physician, unit, or
location by setting up rules for the allocations
within Microsoft Solomon. Now employees no
longer need to manually consolidate records
to assign profits and costs. The billing system
automatically creates journal entries that
previously consumed hours of staff time, and
the healthcare client can now close its
financial books in days instead of weeks.
EHTC expands on the built-in financial
reporting capabilities within Microsoft
Solomon by adding Microsoft Business
Solutions for Analytics–FRx® Professional.
“The reporting capabilities available with
Microsoft Business Solutions have been a
huge advantage to healthcare companies,”
says Echelbarger. “They can see profitability
by cost center, summarized and in detail.
They can get a high-level view and then look
deeper into the data,” he says.
Enhancing the Ability to Compete
Distributors find that the ability to adapt order
processes and workflow to handle their
unique requirements is one of the biggest
advantages of Microsoft Solomon. “The
flexibility of Microsoft Solomon is invaluable,”
says Echelbarger. “When companies choose
industry-specific software, the message they
usually get is ‘You need to do business this
way.’ Microsoft Solomon, by contrast, lets
companies do business their own way.”
Microsoft Solomon improves distributors’
competitiveness by helping them consolidate
sales orders and inventory by date, supplier,
or other desired categories. As a result,
distributors can easily analyze customer
trends or supplier costs and respond quickly
and appropriately to changes in the market.
Providing Opportunities for Partners
Microsoft Solomon offers advantages to
Microsoft partners as well. “There are three
“I’m always amazed at
the degree and depth of
support provided by the
Microsoft Solomon
support group.”
David Echelbarger, Directory of Technology
Solutions, Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm &
Co., P.C.
reasons we base our business on Microsoft
Solomon,” says Echelbarger. “The depth of
the software, its flexibility, and the
relationship we have with Microsoft—they all
contribute to our success.”
Because Microsoft Solomon offers an open
architecture that makes it easy to integrate
third-party applications, offering Microsoft
Solomon helps EHTC sell additional software.
“We extend the capabilities of Microsoft
Solomon with third-party applications,” says
Echelbarger. For example, EHTC offers are
programs for human resources and lasercheck printing. EHTC also sells some of its
own applications, as well.
One application that EHTC developed is
AutoPOg, a program that—with the touch of a
button—generates purchase orders from the
sales order screen of the order management
module of Microsoft Business Solutions for
Distribution, one of the series that can be
purchased with Microsoft Solomon. EHTC
created AutoPOg by using Microsoft SQL
ServerTM 2000 and the Microsoft Business
Solutions for Customization Tools that can
also be purchased with Microsoft Solomon.
EHTC values its relationship with Microsoft,
too. “The Microsoft development group is so
open to feedback,” says Echelbarger. “I’m
always amazed at the degree and depth of
support provided by the Microsoft Solomon
support group.”
Echelbarger believes that Microsoft will only
continue to improve an offering that he sees
as the best option for midmarket ERP. “We’ve
done some remarkable things with Microsoft
Solomon. But the most important advantage
this solution gives us is the ability to focus on
something we do well, driving our own
success, while helping our customers achieve
their own goals.”
For More Information
Microsoft Business Solutions
For more information about Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft
Sales Information Center at (800) 4269400. In Canada, call the Microsoft
Canada Information Centre at (877) 5682495. Customers who are deaf or hard-ofhearing can reach Microsoft text telephone
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in
the United States or (905) 568-9641 in
Canada. Outside the 50 United States and
Canada, please contact your local
Microsoft subsidiary. To access information
using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com
Microsoft Business Solutions offer integrated
business applications and services that allow
small and midsize organizations and divisions
of large enterprises to connect employees,
customers, and suppliers for improved
efficiency. The financial management,
customer relationship management, supply
chain management, and analytics
applications work with other Microsoft
software, including the Microsoft Office
System and the Windows operating system,
to streamline processes across an entire
organization. This gives businesses insight to
respond rapidly, plan strategically, and
execute quickly. Microsoft Business Solutions
are delivered through a worldwide network of
channel partners that provide specialized
services and local support tailored to a
company’s needs.
For more information about Echelbarger,
Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. products and
services, call (800) 404-2065 or visit the
Web site at:
www.ehtc.com
For more information about Microsoft
Business Solutions, go to:
www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions
Software and Services

© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case
study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Microsoft, FRx, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Server
System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. The names of actual companies and products
mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
Document published November, 2004
Microsoft Windows Server System
− Microsoft SQL Server 2000
− Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Standard Edition

Solutions
− Microsoft Business Solutions for
Analytics—FRx Professsional
− Microsoft Business Solutions—Solomon