BT Partners Provides Clear Technology Strategy for Jelmar, LLC

Joe Husnick, Jelmar’s Controller, joined the company in 2019. He quickly began reviewing the company’s technology platform, including its managed services agreement and Syspro, the company’s business management solution. “SYSPRO is our manufacturing ERP application, and BT Partners has been our support partner for years,” says Husnick. “It works really well for us, and we wanted to update to the current version so we could take advantage of new functionality.”

Jelmar does not have an internal IT staff, electing to outsource the support and maintenance of its technology infrastructure to a managed services provider (MSP). Husnick reached out to BT Partners to coordinate the update and speak with the consultant about broadening BT Partners’ role. “I like the idea of a single-source approach to our technology,” Husnick says. “BT Partners provides managed IT services as well as Syspro support, so I spoke with them about what they could do for us. I wanted there to be one company that was in charge of all of our most critical technologies.”

BT Partners provided an MSP proposal that was comprehensive and cost effective. “We get more IT services at a lower cost from BT Partners,” notes Husnick. “They leveraged much of our existing hardware, optimizing functions while saving us money. I call them with any technology question, and they’ve got answers. Having one company responsible allows me to focus more and worry less. They have never let us down.”

Husnick appreciates BT Partners’ holistic approach to technology services that includes everything from servers, to workstations, to the company’s phone system. “I feel like BT Partners is watching out for us, looking for ways to help us improve,” he says.

The pandemic resulted in more people staying at home with increased focus on cleaning — and Jelmar was prepared. “Our sales skyrocketed in 2020. Fortunately, we had the technology tools in place to scale with the demand and take advantage of the opportunity,” explains Husnick. “We’re a lean organization, so every person, every application, and every partner needed to contribute for us to succeed — and in 2020, they really did.”

As an MSP, BT Partners oversees every aspect of Jelmar’s technology infrastructure, including backups and equipment lifecycle planning. “Much of what they do is in the background, invisible to us, but it keeps us running smoothly,” says Husnick. “We are really fortunate that we made this move prior to the pandemic,” he adds. “All our technology was up to the task and working at optimal levels. Our staff was able to access our network securely while they worked remotely, allowing us to keep business going.”

“Getting our manufacturing and distribution right requires manufacturing software that can keep up and Syspro is that software for us — it provides us with the tools and functionality we need to scale production to meet demand in the most cost-effective ways.”

Jelmar continues to expand its use of Syspro to automate additional workflows. Currently, the company is working with BT Partners to incorporate materials requirement planning (MRP) functionality. “We’ve been in business long enough to be able to forecast demand fairly accurately,” Husnick explains. “But we want to lessen the need for institutional knowledge and instead base our projections on facts and data.”

“I don’t like sales tactics, and I don’t want to listen to upsell. With BT Partners, I don’t get any of that,” concludes Husnick. “What I get is an honest partnership and outstanding service that adds real value to our organization.”