Comprehensive software with custom solutions

Schupan, Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been a Shared Logic Group Inc. customer for nearly 20 years. One of the things Julia Bates, vice president of quality improvement business analysts for Schupan, says she enjoys about working with the Holland, Ohio-based software firm is its responsiveness and willingness to custom engineer portions of the software for the scrap processor. “They really do listen to my needs,” she says.

Shared Logic is the creator of RIMAS™ NT/P, a Windows-based software package specifically designed for the recycling industry.

“I pride myself in never saying no to a customer,” says Perry Jacobs, president of the Shared Logic Group.

Jacobs says he designed a number of features specifically at Schupan’s request. “I figured out a way to put them into the existing program and turned it around very quickly. These features become part of the existing program and available to all our users.”

Bates says Shared Logic has made customizing aspects of its products “easy and affordable.” She explains, “For example, they developed a solution that allows us daily visibility into the status of our outbound carriers’ loads. We have custom work to allow imports on files for a major supplier and other ones for mill weights. In every instance when we have custom work, it has been done within a reasonable budget, on time and within the scope of the project.”

With Shared Logic, she says, Schupan felt as if it was getting a true partner. “Whenever possible and wherever it makes sense, Schupan looks for partners—not just customers—and I believe the same is true about Shared Logic’s business model.”

Prior to installing software from Shared Logic in 1999, Schupan had been running its business using manual forms and general accounting software. The company made the switch to Shared Logic because the software could help Schupan manage its inventory and “elevate reporting and customer service to the next level,” Bates says.

“We felt their software would allow us to utilize different modules as our demand grew,” she continues. “We weren’t going to be forced to turn everything on at once in some predefined order.”

Shared Logic’s affordable fee structure, understanding of the scrap industry and involvement with other members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the Washington-based trade association for the scrap recycling industry, also factored into Schupan’s choice.

RIMAS Mobile Dispatch is one of the software modules that Schupan started using recently. “The Mobile Dispatch products allowed a real-time, estimated arrival of incoming material and the ability to understand the true internal transportation cost associated with servicing each account,” Bates says. “With this feature, we are able to set geofencing around accounts to automate some of our processes and locate our assets at our suppliers.”

Schupan also uses Shared Logic’s RIMAS Online product to power its customer web portal. “This tool gives our suppliers and consumers the ability to pull data on demand rather than us pushing data to them,” she says.

“We also use a tool called eDOC Executive, which allows us to scan documents to attach to any number of transactions within RIMAS,” Bates adds.

With every module of Shared Logic’s software Schupan has implemented, Bates says the company has gained efficiencies. Creating bar code inventory tags, for instance, has allowed forklift drivers to load more efficiently. “They scan the bar code onto a phone app that shows them the weight as they are loading.”

She continues, “The pricing module—which handles all regulatory challenges and works with our ATMs—has increased our buying teams’ productivity and improved the timeliness of month-end reporting.”

Bates says she recommends Shared Logic to other scrap industry professionals. “They know our business. Without actually owning a scrap yard, Shared Logic listens and stays deeply involved with the scrap community to provide an all-encompassing solution.”