A company dedicated to providing business management technology solutions required a solution specifically designed to work for the marine industry, offering organization and management tools for boat builders and boatyards.

Challenge:

CorVant, LLC, a provider of SaaS based, industry specific business management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses in select industries, aimed to expand their solution offering to fill a business management software gap for the marine industry.  They wanted to create what would eventually become their flagship product, PierVantage.

Specifically, CorVant set out to address the problems plaguing existing business management software products (products that were long accepted and predominantly utilized by boatyards and boat builders). During the market research phase, their team found that software in the marine industry was lacking in features and functionality, very cumbersome to use, and required many manual workarounds to produce meaningful reports that actually help leaders manage the business.

Furthermore, the team at CorVant recognized the need for an affordable cloud-based platform that was reliable, secure, and would allow boatyards and boat builders the freedom to access their business from anywhere and at any time with a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Solution:

After a thorough industry vetting process was completed by the DecisivEdge applications development team, they were hired to begin designing the architectural structure and wireframing the process flows in the application.  Given their knowledge and broad experience related to technology and business management, DecisivEdge engineers worked to ensure the platform was designed so that future customers could utilize the solution in a way that supported the unique nuances that set their businesses apart from the competition.

After a thorough industry vetting process was completed by the DecisivEdge applications development team, they were hired to begin designing the architectural structure and wireframing the process flows in the application. Given their knowledge and broad experience related to technology and business management, DecisivEdge engineers worked hard to ensure the platform was designed so that future customers could utilize the solution in a way that supported the unique nuances that set their businesses apart from the competition.

For example, in one of the early development phases, the team made a decision to structure the code in modular fashion. After all, not all boatyards and boat builders offer their customers the exact same services. This meant that creating various integrated modules would allow customers to pick and choose the functionality they actually need and want to pay for.

The developed system, PierVantage, is the first and only integrated cloud-based business management solution that is specifically built for the marine industry. It helps boatyards and boat builders increase cash flow and revenue, increase operational efficiency, reduce overhead and cost, and improve customer satisfaction. The platform fills a unique need in the market that was previously unmet for those running boating-related companies.

DecisivEdge leveraged the benefits of the cloud for PierVantage and its clients, allowing them to enter information once and seamlessly flow through the application to keep track of job costs, inventory used, and back-end reporting. Because it is cloud-based, clients can log into their instance of PierVantage at any time, from anywhere and view accurate, up-to-date information. Using the tool in the cloud also means that boatyards and boat builders do not need to install hardware or maintain software/equipment as the updates occur automatically. PierVantage manages the platform, as well as every aspect of marine business.

The solution that DecisivEdge developed allows customers to streamline every aspect of business management, allowing clients to:

  • Create templates and quickly formulate invoices that customers can easily understand
  • Leverage analytics to track and analyze projects, making it possible to control expenses and adjust pricing or make future changes to procedures
  • Multitask by using several browser windows at the same time
  • Relax knowing that system keeps information secure at all times, reducing the risk of hackers getting ahold of critical data

The platform includes multiple modules, allowing boatyards, marinas and boat builders to manage every aspect of their business. These include: Project Templates, Work Management, Project Management, Workforce Scheduling, Time Management, Purchase Order Entry, Special Orders, Inventory Control, Billing, Contracts, Point-of-Sale, Accounting (A/R, A/P and G/L), Reporting and Marina Reservations. On top of useful features, PierVantage integrates all data in real time allowing for advanced reporting that provides truly valuable insight to business owners.

Results

PierVantage is used by over fifty boat builders and boatyards in North America.

These companies consistently sited the flexible access, easy of use , richness of the functionality and the end-to-end integration as reasons for selecting PierVantage.

Both boat builders and boatyards reported significant improvements in estimating and eliminating revenue leakage as key benefits that they have realized in their businesses following the deployment of PierVantage.

 

“We chose PierVantage after a comprehensive review of other programs and found none that could compare to what PierVantage offers. It is a software specifically tailored to today’s marine industry. As a business owner, it is critical to have accurate, reliable information from accounts receivable, to pending estimates, inventory levels – a myriad of details, accessible 24/7 from anywhere. And PierVantage continues to implement updates, many responding directly to feedback from other yards, demonstrating their commitment to growth.”

Patricia Donovan Bennett, President – Bennett Brothers Yachts Inc., Wilmington, North Carolina