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Background

Service Electric Supply, Inc. is a distributor of products manufactured by the top brands in the electrical industry. Based in southeast Michigan, Service Electric’s business is centered on one key goal – deliver quality products and service that exceed customer expectations.

It doesn’t matter if that customer is a large industrial company or an independent contractor, the pledge remains the same. It has been the cornerstone of Service Electric Supply for over 30 years – a commitment that will continue for the next 30 years and beyond.

Eric Buszka, CFO of Service Electric Supply describes how his company’s commitment to superior service was the driving force behind improvements to the payment experience for customers.

Success Snapshot

Dilemma

  • Manual entry, management, and remittance were time consuming
  • Manual payment reconciliation led to delays in updating customer balances
  • Complicated PCI certification led to non-compliance fees and security concerns

Objectives

  • Eliminate manual payment processes
  • Simplify PCI to eliminate non-compliance fees
  • Enhance the security of payment transactions and data
  • Provide transparent, fair pricing for credit card processing
  • Improve the level of service delivered to Service Electric customers

Solution

  • Streamline payment integration in two weeks
  • Provide turnkey PCI compliance and enhanced security
  • Off clear, concise pricing
  • Assign a dedicated relationship manager

Results

  • Customer payments are processed 25% faster
  • Reduced PCI scope and eliminated non-compliance fee
  • Level III processing rates now save as much as 30%
  • Peace of mind that customers’ payment data is fully protected
MAKING THE PAYMENT EXPERIENCE EASIER FOR EVERYONE

Eric Buszka, CFO, Service Electric Supply

“We knew we needed to upgrade our payment process to improve the experience not only for our customers but for our back office staff as well. At the time, payments were handled outside of our Savance Enterprise ERP system. That resulted in a complex payment environment:

  • Manual entry, management, and remittance was time consuming
  • Manual payment reconciliation led to delays in updating customer balances
  • Complicated PCI certification left us with costly non-compliance fees and security concerns”
ADDITIONAL CONCERNS ABOUT PRICING AND SERVICE

“We were facing other payment related issues. For example, we really had no idea just how much we were being charged for our credit card processing. Were we even getting a fair deal?

Also, we realized that our payment processor at the time was not treating us in the same manner that we treat our customers. If we’re going to hold ourselves to a superior service standard, our vendors need to be held to that same standard. It was clear – we needed a payment partner that could:

  1. Eliminate manual payment processes
  2. Simplify PCI to eliminate non-compliance fees
  3. Enhance the security of our payment transactions and data
  4. Provide transparent, fair pricing for our credit card processing
  5. Deliver the same level of service to us that we deliver to our customers
QUICKLY SOLVING OUR PROBLEMS

“Our ERP provider, Savance, introduced us to Wind River Financial, its new integrated payment partner. The Wind River team came in and took the time to listen to the problems we were having. Working collaboratively, Wind River and Savance then developed a plan to solve each of our issues.”

1. Two Weeks to Streamline Payment Integration

“The team mapped out a four-step plan of the entire process – from application and underwriting to account configuration and full integration with our Savance Enterprise ERP. The project took us from manual back office processes to an automated payment environment in less than a month.”

2. Turnkey PCI Compliance and Enhanced Security

“Wind River and Savance delivered a solution that removed PCI scope from our payment process. This included:

  • Redirected payment page to get sensitive data out of our environment
  • Tokenization so we could securely store card data for repeat and recurring transactions
  • Point-to-point encryption of all data transmitted to the card brands”

In addition, the team further enhanced our data protection by upgrading our payment environment to enable the added security of EMV/chip card transactions.”

3. Clear, Concise Pricing

“The pricing formula was presented in a clear manner so we could see exactly how much the card brands were charging and how much Wind River was charging. This transparency gave us confidence that our credit card processing fees were fair and competitive.

Working together, Wind River and Savance took the process even further. The payment automation with our Savance Enterprise ERP enabled us to qualify for Level 3 reduced rates. This delivered a 30% cost savings in credit card processing.”

4. Dedicated Relationship Manager

“We were so happy to have a payment partner with the same customer focus that we have. Wind River provided Service Electric Supply with its own relationship manager. We know that when we have an issue or a question, our RM is just a phone call away. This is helpful as we don’t have to wait days for a call back or need to explain who we are and what we do every time we have a question.”

QUANTIFIABLE RESULTS

“Our partnership with Savance and Wind River continues to have a positive effect on our business.

  1. We are processing customer payments 25% faster.
  2. Reducing our PCI scope saves us a monthly non-compliance fee.
  3. Level 3 processing rates continue to save us as much as 30%.
  4. We have peace of mind that our customers’ payment data is fully protected.

“We appreciate that Wind River has the same level of customer commitment that we have. It’s the foundation of a long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnership.”