SDCExec.com |

What started as a counter in a health and beauty store in 1985 has grown into The Nailco Group (TNG), an $80+ million family-owned business. TNG serves its customer through its mail order catalog, extensive Web sites, 25 The Industry Source Stores and The Industry Source Too stores in Michigan and Ohio, and The Industry Source Exclusive full-service division with Beauty Experts.

Besides nail care products and equipment, the business has evolved to selling hair care products such as Matrix and L'Oreal Professionnel, indoor tanning equipment and lotions, and spa furniture and design services. The company manufactures select products under the brand names FPO and TIS PRO, and publishes a magazine for industry professionals called The Industry Source magazine.

As the company continued to grow and establish offices in numerous locations around the country, management found it needed an automated system to process and track supply purchases and requests, as well as account for these items as they were being requisitioned.

Many of Nailco's 325 employees were using credit cards to make work-related purchases. However, 30 days later when the bills arrived, it was often difficult to determine what had been bought, by whom, and why. In addition, the finance team did not want to issue a credit card to every individual employee who was responsible for making acquisition decisions and they needed a more flexible alternative that would not hamper employees in their day-to-day responsibilities.

TNG's goals were to replace its credit card expense reporting system with an automated solution that would require approval for acquisitions, and also to find a way to track, process and approve all company expenses in a uniform, methodical manner.

"It was difficult to corral everybody and make them understand they needed to retain the necessary information so the items could be recorded properly," said Brad Kellett, chief financial officer, The Nailco Group. "We saw [Chicago-based] Integrify as a means to an end, as a solution to these problems."

The Integrify solution is a flexible enterprise request management (ERM) system that allows companies to automate requests and streamline processes. TNG's IT department was the first to implement the software for request management. But when Kellett learned of its features and benefits, he decided it would be the right solution for TNG's finance department because of its built-in hierarchy and its ability to collect and track all the information regarding acquisition postings. Nailco went live with Integrify in its finance department in early 2006.