Family Center Farm & Home Case Study
THE CUSTOMER
Founded in 1965, Family Center Farm & Home stores are family-owned and operated. Family Center Farm & Home opened its first store under the name of Tractor Parts and Home Supply in Harrisonville, MO. The flagship store is still open in Harrisonville and the company has expanded to 6 additional locations serving Butler, Rolla, Ozark, Sedalia and St. Joseph, MO and Paola, KS communities.
The Family Center team relies on Horizon’s retail management solutions to manage the complexities of a geographically dispersed retail chain with a broad range of products. This three-decade technology partnership has resulted in significant cost savings and efficiencies across many facets of the business.
A THREE-DECADE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP
Horizon has been the trusted software provider for Family Center Farm & Home for 30+ years. Over that time, retail and customer expectations have both evolved, and retailers like Family Center have had to adapt to remain successful.
Owner William Mills credits Horizon with supporting his business operations as FC Farm & Home grows and thrives. “I’ve been personally working with the Horizon team for over 30 years,” Mills says. “In that time, I’ve watched Horizon’s solutions expand as the team innovates to support more business functions. One thing hasn’t changed, though. I always feel like our business operations are in safe hands with the Horizon team.”
Mills also notes that Horizon offers a winning mix of reliable, easy-to-use software and timely support, which helps keep operations running smoothly at his stores. Since Horizon’s acquisition by Constellation Software in October 2019, his team has enjoyed benefits like more frequent and reliable software releases, improved support tracking and outcomes, and new features and modernizations that keep them ahead of the game.
AUTOMATING ORDERING AND INVOICING TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY
Family Center Farm & Home lives up to the moniker “The Everything Store.” The Family Center team pride themselves on offering customers more diverse products and services than other traditional “big box” stores.
Managing an inventory of 50,000+ products requires the right application of technology, to prevent over or understocking and facilitate easy and agile order processing and invoicing. Horizon has partnered with Family Center and York Worldwide Technologies, to automate Family Center’s ordering and invoicing using Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI. Automation has offered the business huge cost savings and efficiency improvements.
“EDI is a gamechanger for our organization,” notes Bill Manion, EVP. “Ensuring that customers have access to the right mix of products, at the moment they need them, is an essential part of our commitment to customer service. EDI technology, and Horizon’s expert support, make that possible.”
A MAJOR RECENT RECOGNITION AND A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Family Center Farm & Home was recently recognized as the Member of the Year at the Mid-States Rendezvous Trade Show, a major event for Farm, Ranch & Home retailers and suppliers.
William Mills says of the honor, “I’m proud of each and every team member for their contribution towards our success. They made it possible for us to receive this award, and their devotion to customer experience and operational excellence helps our business thrive.”
“I’d also like to acknowledge the support of partners like Horizon, whose solutions and expertise provide the backbone of our business operations and make it possible for our teams to reach new heights.”
What comes next for the long and successful Family Center Farm & Home partnership? Manion mentions a few key initiatives including modernizing the point-of-sale experience, making technology infrastructure upgrades, and deepening the benefits realized from EDI integration. We’ll count on Horizon to assist us with these initiatives, of course,” notes Blake Mills, son of William Mills and CEO of Family Center. “Together, we work towards my family’s goal of providing customers with the best quality merchandise, at the most competitive prices, with the additional value of a great customer experience.”