K'NEX Connects Data with Interactive Information Database

Focused on “Building Worlds Kids Love”, U.S.-based K’NEX (www.knex.com) distributes its popular construction toy sets in 30 countries.

With a growing product line and distribution on the rise, K’NEX needed to migrate from departmental siloes of data and spreadsheets to a central, easy-to-manage product and project database.

Two years ago, K’NEX started the construction of an internal intranet that would control the majority of product-related data across all departments. Today, K.I.I.D. (K’NEX Interactive Information Database) is an item-centric and highly visual database where all bill of materials, product descriptions, product dimension, pictures, product information, etc., are maintained.

Built as an extension of K’NEX’s traditional ERP system, K.I.I.D. features tabs for each department where they can enter information that is specific to their job description. That information is then filtered to one central location, so that when you log in to K.I.I.D. you know that the information you are looking at is the most up-to-date information available.

“The system was designed in a way to ensure that data and handoffs traveled smoothly throughout the system and between departments,” says Tony Kratowicz, chief information officer, K’NEX. “Each department uses K.I.I.D. differently, but in a way that affects the company as a whole.”

• Marketing uses K.I.I.D. to update product information, submit briefs to design, view current images, and keep track of products being developed for specific customers.
• Engineering can maintain product bills of material and evaluate a product across plants to find the most cost effective way to manufacture it.
• Shipping arranges deliveries, maintains shipping schedules, container locations and consolidations.
• Accounting has tools that manage customer payments and commissions.
• Design uses the system to track the development of all products, including concept designs, meeting schedules, product images, concept images and a full history of all changes throughout the life of any product or concept.
• Customer Service uses the database to view all the SKUs in the line and help answer customer questions about availability and piece count.
• Logistics uses the system to ensure a smooth transition from concept to its ERP platform and production.
• Safety maintains all product safety reports and can instantly view a product’s required warnings and test expiration date.
• Graphics keeps a list of every project they are working on in a sortable, searchable spreadsheet maintained in K.I.I.D.

There are also several tabs that allow outside parties to access and obtain information, like special pricing or graphics. Housing the information in one central location eliminates confusion.

“The key to success has been maintaining ease of use and tailoring the system to how each department worked,” says Kratowicz. “Today, K.I.I.D. is a living breathing system that is constantly changing to meet its user’s needs.”

Companywide, K.I.I.D. has changed the way everyone works. No longer does each department need to go searching for information from other departments.  Everything is online, everything resides in K.I.I.D. and, more importantly, no information is lost.

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FAST FACTS

Company at a Glance
From classic building sets to KISS building figures, K’NEX aims to inspire creativity, build self-confidence and encourage interaction among children and parents.

Building Blocks
K.I.I.D. runs on a Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 64bit server running IIS7.5. The primary developer tool is Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 for web. The interface with K’NEX ERP system — Epicor Avante — was accomplished using RedBack from Rocket Software. All data in the K.I.I.D. is contained in a centralized Microsoft 2008 SQL server.

Room to Grow
Initially used as a way to keep track of shipping information, K.I.I.D. has since evolved into a way to streamline information at K’NEX. It has taken a traditional ERP system and extended it back into the concept and development phases of product development.

Total Visibility
K.I.I.D. tracks the full life history of a product and documents most decisions along the way, which makes it much easier to understand why many decisions were made and for whom a product is being designed and manufactured.

Words of Wisdom
“The K.I.I.D. system is the glue that pulls all departments and databases together into one unified view.”
—Tony Kratowicz, Chief Information Officer, K’NEX