SmartConnect Saves Aidacare Healthcare Equipment $150,000+ and Thousands of Man-Hours

For nearly two decades, Arthur Achilleos, Finance Systems Manager at Aidacare Healthcare Equipment, has trusted eOne Solutions to help keep the company running smoothly. Founded in 1987, Aidacare is a leading provider of healthcare equipment and assistive technology, supporting hospitals, residential aged-care facilities, home community care, and rehabilitation. With over 900 employees, the Australian-based company continues to deliver innovative solutions that improve the quality of lives across the healthcare sector.

I can see you’re always investing in SmartConnect and Popdock. When we choose software, we like to see that. You don’t want to choose software that never changes.

Arthur Achilleos – Finance Systems Manager for Aidacare Healthcare Equipment

Achilleos faced several challenges at Aidacare, including:

• Data Management Issues: Inefficiencies and inaccuracies caused by manual data entry and an overabundance of data.
• Integration Complexity: Aidacare was managing too many integration points.
• Historical Data Access: Users frequently requested access to historical data, which led to inefficiencies, particularly when large-scale data transfers bogged down the system.
• Reporting Limitations: Despite using a custom reporting system, Achilleos found it difficult to summarize data quickly.
• Cost and Licensing Concerns: Achilleos wanted to cut down on licensing costs and he was looking for a solution that wouldn’t require large-scale data transfers or additional licenses for users accessing the system.

Solution #1: SmartConnect

“SmartConnect is used pretty much wherever we have a web portal,” said Achilleos. “It handles basic integrations with GP and even helped me create XML documents in the past. We used to rely on SQL jobs to manage quotes over a certain number of days, but now I handle it all in SmartConnect—it’s great for housekeeping.”

Ecommerce manages a warranty website, and while the data can get chaotic, SmartConnect has helped simplify the process and eliminate manual entry, ensuring accuracy. One of the largest projects involving SmartConnect was building their contract management portal, a project that took about six months and included custom eConnect nodes.

SmartConnect’s ability to transfer raw data into actionable insights and automate necessary actions has made processes much more efficient. Achilleos noted that this functionality was something GP could not do, and he greatly appreciated it.

Achilleos’s interest in Popdock was sparked when he first saw it at a conference in Melbourne years ago. “Over time,” he said, “we’ve looked at a few different reporting systems, but I couldn’t find anything I couldn’t already do myself.” Since Aidacare was already using a custom reporting system built by their IT manager, he did not think that acquiring Popdock was a necessity. However, after seeing Popdock in action via video, he recognized its value. “The fact that I can use Popdock to create OData from a database outside of GP means I can expose a lot more.”

After seeing Popdock, Achilleos recognized it as an ideal tool for summarizing data, especially for tasks like quickly viewing customer information or identifying which customers are buying specific products—something that is difficult to do in GP. While customizations in GP are possible, Popdock’s ability to drill down into multiple reports with detailed side views made it a more efficient solution. When Popdock became available on a subscription model at a similar cost to their previous perpetual license, switching was an easy decision.

Using Popdock, Achilleos was able to create a widget that gave access to some historical data, including prior customer invoices. “One of the biggest challenges is users want to see historical data. I do not want to sync historical data, nor do I want them downloading the data every day,” Achilleos said. “So, there is a Popdock widget for that — [and its] pretty cool.”

Achilleos implemented a parameter for his users to look up customers and their historical invoices, which includes a summary report and data graphs — “all the stuff they are used to seeing in a CRM,” he said. Without Popdock, all of the data would have had to be synced over, rather than simply displayed inside OutSystems.

Results

Achilleos has dedicated countless hours working with SmartConnect to customize integrations for Aidacare’s specific needs. At one point, they were managing 20 different integration points, but now they’re down to just one, saving him and his team “thousands of man-hours.”

He also pointed out the significant cost savings: six months of development, which included building nodes and programming, amounted to around $100,000. Hiring a development partner for the same work would have cost $150,000 or more. Instead, Achilleos used SmartConnect to handle the project himself, saving both time and money while avoiding numerous headaches.

Using SmartConnect, Achilleos created an integration process that would previously take multiple developers and thousands of dollars to replicate.

Achilleos reflected on his experience with eOne and praised the support staff at Popdock. “They’ve been fantastic,” he said. “Mark Anderson created an eConnect node, and after seeing that, I felt a bit bad because I knew I couldn’t do it as well as he did! But they’ve been great.” He also expressed his appreciation for how SmartConnect and Popdock continue to evolve. “I can see you’re always investing in SmartConnect and Popdock,” Achilleos noted. “When we choose software, we like to see that. You don’t want to choose software that never changes. That’s a great strength, and from what I’ve seen, you guys have a really, really good thing.”