BAXCO pharmaceuticals, inc. Case Study
Overview
With over two decades of experience, Baxco Pharmaceutical leaders have provided their clients with superior private label nutritional supplement products at competitive prices, while maintaining the industry’s highest level of customer service and quality standards. Working with distributors and brand companies around the globe, Baxco maximizes client profits with effective bottling, labeling, packaging and order fulfillment services, an all-in-one solution for our customers.
Challenge
In 2014, Baxco started preparing for a move from a small manufacturing facility in Walnut, CA to a state-of-the-art cleanroom production and warehouse logistics facility in Irwindale, CA. By 2017, Baxco had grown their workforce by 108%, exceeding their expectations. The management team knew that IT systems would be a stumbling block to growth if left unaddressed; the existing system had several shortcomings:
Baxco had zero IT staff. They were in a limbo: their needs went beyond their staff’s skills, but they couldn’t justify hiring a fulltime IT support resource. As the company grew, the internal team took on new non-technical responsibilities, leaving no time to support increasingly-important systems.
After growing and earning new contracts, Baxco systems would hold more valuable data: formulas, etc. This meant security was more important than it had been been before.
Systems became more critical as more employees and larger clients came to rely on them. Downtime would now affect 50 employees, not 25; larger client deliveries would be affected. This had to be avoided.
The General Networks Solution:
General Networks designed and deployed a scalable, stable, secure network that fit Baxco’s growth plan. With larger and more demanding clients coming on board, security was fortified against common threats: a regularly-updated firewall and new backup strategy keep important data secure. Despite more than doubling their headcount, Baxco’s support bill remains the same in 2017 as it was in 2014. Baxco avoided hiring a minimally-skilled IT administrator at about $45k per year in payroll (not including benefits, training). By engaging with General Networks, Baxco found a lower cost alternative without sacrificing know-how. The General Networks helpdesk and field reps have come through with the responsiveness, knowledgeability, and troubleshooting skills needed to keep Baxco staff on task.
Scalable Email
With growing headcount, Baxco avoided worries about storage space, client access licenses, and server load by moving their email system offsite in the public cloud. These costs are very predictable and the system has been very stable, allowing staff to focus on effective client communication anywhere they have an internet connection.
New Line of Business System
When Baxco grew out of their old production management system, GNC referred Baxco to a qualified partner to complete an implementation of Dynamics GP. This was a major part of their expansion, matching the buildout of their new cleanroom and production capacity with a system that could track, report, and manage their production process. As an alternative to Oracle solutions, Baxco secured some major licensing and implementation savings.
Results
With deep experience in supporting the manufacturing sector, General Networks had the right recommendations and skill to deliver a reliable and growth-ready network. Clear expectations set in 2014 ring true today and partnerships with other technology vendors helped round out the GNC service as new Baxco requirements emerged.