Grain Journal - July/August 2008 - (Page 83) COMPUTER SOFTWARE CASE STUDY Progressive Tech Support SSI HELPS ILLINOIS COOP ADAPT SOFTWARE FOR VARIETY OF USES For Jim Vierling, general manager of Danvers Farmers Elevator Co., dealing with progressive suppliers has been a key to his coop’s success during his 30 years leading the Danvers, IL grain and agronomy company. And one of those progressive suppliers has been SSI, the Shelbyville, IL-based grain accounting software firm. “We purchased SSI’s agronomy software to help with fertilizer sales and application in 1993,” says Vierling, who called SSI after getting recommendations from other chemical and fertilizer application firms. Later, when it came time to update the cooperative’s grain accounting software, Vierling says, “it just made sense to use SSI. They are a progressive company and oriented toward customer service.” Integrated System Danvers Farmers Elevator, which has been serving members in central Illinois for over 100 years, uses a UP server, with several PCs networked at its office. because it is user-friendly, which helps them be more customer-oriented.” Better Accuracy Office Manager Sandy Gibson agrees. She remembers when one of the coop’s customers wanted a grain settlement check, and the software alerted her that something was wrong with the transaction. Unfortunately, Gibson’s doublechecking did not detect a problem. She called SSI for technical assistance, and the SSI staff guided her through the problem on the phone and modified a preference setting to avert a future problem. Within just a few minutes, the customer had his check. “They are always able to answer any of my questions, and I have never talked with any SSI staff member who did not understand what our needs were,” Gibson says. Just like other elevator office managers, Gibson enters transactions throughout the day, and appreciates the ease of producing daily and monthly reports, which “seemingly take only a keystroke.” Jim Vierling, general manager, and Sandy Gibson, office manager, at Danvers Farmers Elevator Co., Danvers, IL. With total grain storage of 4.0 million bushels and ancillary services demanding reliable software, Vierling says he depends on SSI software for his grain management, agronomy, business accounting, field mapping, and other needs to be linked together. “We have full and part-time bookkeepers who use it, and our agronomy manager uses the mapping and billing functions, as does our seed salesman,” Vierling says. “Several of our 11-member staff work with the SSI software, Grain Company Danvers Farmers Elevator Co. Danvers, IL • 309-963-4305 Jim Vierling, General Manager Sandy Gibson, Office Manager Founded: 1904 Annual volume: 4,000,000 bushels at one location Number of employees: 11 Crops handled: Corn, soybeans, wheat Services: Grain handling, fertilizer, chemicals, custom application, and seed. Part owner of AgRail in Bloomington, IL. Software Vendor 800-752-7912 Shelbyville, IL www.agvance.net Pam Rincker, President and Founder Grain accounting software: Agvance® Grain, Accounting, Patronage and Scale Interface Operating systems: Windows Vista, XP, 2008, 2003; Terminal Server; Citrix MetaFrame, Citrix XP Software options: Executive dashboard, mobile inventory, energy, dispatch, blending, planning, mapping, chemical label compliance, and MyFarmRecords.net J/A GJ 83 http://www.agvance.net http://www.agvance.net http://MyFarmRecords.net
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