Jackson Systems Cuts Review Time From 3 Days to Hours and Frees $1M in Inventory

A Purchasing Process That Couldn’t Keep Up

When Thelma Chavez, Director of Operations, joined Jackson Systems, the company had grown from a garage startup into a six-division HVAC distributor with nearly $40M in revenue and a rapidly expanding eCommerce business. The growth was fast which presented opportunities and challenges in their purchasing processes.

Two buyers reviewed more than 9,000 SKUs each week using spreadsheets, formulas, and tribal knowledge. It took two to three days to work through the list, and as soon as they finished, the cycle started over. “We were reviewing every SKU, every week,” Thelma says. “And by the time we finished, it was time to start over.”There was little visibility into service levels, turns, dormant and dying inventory or ABC velocity code classifications. Supplier deals often guided decisions without clear financial logic. “We had too much inventory on things that weren’t moving and not enough on things that were,” she says.

As eCommerce volume grew and fill-rate expectations tightened, leadership faced a choice: hire another full-time purchasing admin or find a system that could automate the basics and let the team manage by exception. They chose the latter.

Choosing and Implementing a New Way Forward

Jackson Systems evaluated three solutions before narrowing to two finalists. Vendors were asked to simulate a “day in the life” using Jackson’s data. That’s where Blue Ridge stood out. “Blue Ridge had the best interface and analytics you would need as a professional purchasing buyer,” Thelma says. “Other solutions had pieces, but not the whole package.” The Blue Ridge platform fit their size and complexity while providing the visibility they lacked and came in at a price point leadership felt would pay for itself in both time and inventory.

Implementation took about six months, driven largely by data cleanup. The Blue Ridge technical guidebook outlined exactly what needed to be sent from their boutique ERP, and Thelma still uses it when something looks off. The transition from implementation to LifeLine support was smooth.

“We call our LifeLine coach, from time to time,” she says. “There’s always something unique that comes up, and he always has a good solution.” Within months, the workload eased, the manual noise faded and the team finally had the visibility they’d been missing.

Leadership saw the connection immediately. “They get excited about the service level and the total inventory dollars,” she says. “Because in turn, all those end up with cash flow.”

Staffing plans changed, too. Jackson Systems had been preparing to add a third buyer, but the efficiency gains eliminated the need. “We were able to avoid the hire completely,” she says. “And that alone pays for the subscription each year.” The team still operates with two buyers, and Thelma believes they can support another 30–40% growth before needing more headcount.

Sales also became more aligned. Initial skepticism gave way to collaboration as they saw how their input shaped planning. They now provide updates on new customer locations, product launches and expected uplifts. “I can load in an event and then next month go back and say, ‘You said we were going to see an uplift of 50%, but we only saw 5%.’ Next year, we’re smarter.” Trust improved on both sides, sales gained confidence in availability, and purchasing gained better forward-looking information.

Blue Ridge had the best interface and analytics you would need as a professional purchasing buyer

— Thelma Chavez, Director of Operations