HB Chemical

HB Chemical provides chemicals and compounds used in the production of rubber, plastics and coatings. With an inventory of over 600 products distributed through a network of 15 strategically-located warehouses in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the company is well-equipped to quickly and efficiently service its industrial customers. For the majority of the HB Chemical’s 25-year history, it has relied on one technology partner to help it grow its efficiencies and its success. The partner that HB Chemical trusts is NexTec Group.

“NexTec is a tremendous organization that has supported our technology infrastructure as we grew from a small $6 million a year organization into a $135 million major player in the industry.” Annette Doria, Vice President of Operations, HB Chemical

“They have been with us from the start,” says Annette Doria, Vice President of Operations for HB Chemical. “NexTec is a tremendous organization that has supported our technology infrastructure as we grew from a small $6 million a year organization into a $135 million major player in the industry.”

As the company has grown, its technology needs have also grown, requiring more sophisticated software tools to meet new and changing demands. Doria says that the company’s partnership with NexTec has meant that it has always been able to meet those demands and is in a strong position to adapt to future growth and changes.

“We are not an out-of-the-box company,” Doria says. “We have so many unique business processes that we need software that is flexible enough to adapt to those processes, and a business partner capable of executing on those adaptations. We’ve found that combination in Microsoft Dynamics GP and NexTec.”

As a chemical manufacturer, HB Chemical must produce accurate Certificates of Analysis for the products it sells.

“For years, we were able to get by with a Certificate of Analysis process that wasn’t even computerized,” recalls Doria. “But as we grew, we clearly needed a purpose-built tool to help us both document and ensure the quality and consistency of our products. NexTec worked with us to build a Certificate of Analysis application that integrates with Microsoft Dynamics GP.”

The application houses all of the technical data needed, and automatically generates the certificates and required safety data sheets during shipping.

The programming team at NexTec also developed a robust warehouse shipping dashboard for HB Chemical that has dramatically reduced the time and labor resources required to pick, pack and ship product.

“Our various warehouse locations access the warehouse dashboard remotely,” explains Doria. “They can see which orders are ready to ship and print the required bills of lading and shipping labels, all without needing to access our accounting application.”

Staff at the main location can review the warehouse dashboards for each warehouse location, to monitor progress and ensure orders are processed and shipped on time.

The company’s expansion also dictated the need for a comprehensive warehouse management system, and NexTec sourced an ideal solution that delivers broad capabilities and seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

When HB Chemical expanded its territory into Mexico, NexTec was there to help, extending the deployment of the highly-scalable Microsoft Dynamics GP solution and its multi-language capabilities.

“NexTec has really helped us during this expansion,” notes Doria. “It’s an advantage to us that they are large enough to have the resources to help with complex initiatives like this, yet small enough to give us the personalized attention we deserve.”

“As the Vice President of Operations, I believe my job is to listen to our employees, understand their roles and our workflows, and to constantly look for ways to empower our people to do their jobs better and more efficiently,” Doria says. “When I have an idea about how to do this, I’m able to take it to NexTec and they are able to turn it into reality. They have deep resources and a great deal of product and business acumen.”

She concludes, “I can’t say enough about NexTec. All of their people, from sales and programming to support, consistently deliver a high level of service. They listen to us, they ask the right questions and they get results. They’ve taken my ideas, combined them with their own, and created for us a business management solution that works extremely well.”

About NexTec Group

NexTec Group is one of North America’s largest and most experienced technology consulting firms, specializing in industry-specific solutions for mid-sized organizations. For nearly 30 years, NexTec has been a trusted partner to businesses, delivering, implementing and supporting the core Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions they need to scale and grow. NexTec is a gold-certified Acumatica partner with deep experience in field services, manufacturing, distribution, professional services, and more.