Centralized article management solution generates business value

RWC is a supplier of plumbing and heating systems with the goal of providing solutions that make life easier for everybody who uses their products. From the homeowner who changes a leaky valve under the sink to the professionals who are installing a water system in a high rise. One of RWC’s popular brands, Sharkbite, is a push to connect solution that allows for a practically toolless installation.

“We have a wide assortment of products that serve the water distribution system from water meter to water fixture”, says Rich Houle, Director of Codes and Standards.”

All of RWCs products are required to be listed to standards for quality, health and safety in order to be authorized for sale in the US. Currently they have 108 different listings and 10 000 SKUs, and the responsibility to make sure they are all up to date has been a joint responsibility of several people in the organization.

“It has been time-consuming, manual work to keep the listings updated, and the risk of human error has meant that we have never felt fully confident that everything is correct at all times.”

High price of errors

If an article is not included in the listing the consequences could be significant as they are not allowed to be sold. It could result in a fine, cause a delay of a construction project or that a contractor chooses to change suppliers.

“We needed an easy to maintain solution that would ensure that our sales staff always could answer the question if our products are compliant to the right standards and codes with a confident ‘yes’.”

Together with Pipeson’s development team, RWC listed the requirements for an extended version of the Approval Management functionality that would make it easy to maintain the current database as well as adding new articles and provide a clear overview of all the listings.

“In a nutshell it is a centrally managed, sustainable solution, that is not dependent on one person’s experience and know how, that ensures that the right person has the right information at their fingertips.”

Partnership and generous process

During the development process RWC and Pipeson have worked closely together to design an optimal solution for RWC, but also one that would add value to businesses in other industries where suppliers are required to make public listings with a third-party agency.

“It has very much been a partnership and a generous process where Pipeson has wanted to provide us with a solution that will make our lives easier. In turn we have offered honest feedback and made suggestions that would make the solution a good fit for other applications. From our perspective Pipeson has really delivered on their promises.”