DeScenza Success Story

Technology is Key to Success For Couture Jeweler

Partnering with Applications Systems Corporation may have been one of the best moves that DeScenza Diamonds has ever made.

The Massachusetts-based retailer first hooked up with ASC in 1984 and was one of the firm's original customers. Since then, DeScenza has grown to four locations and manages its inventory with a level of speed, precision and efficiency it couldn't even imagine 20 years ago.

"When we first considered using ASC, we had one location and were ready to start opening new locations, but just didn't have an internal inventory system in place," recalled Peter Cuozzo, director of IT for DeScenza. "Our system's capabilities are now far beyond anything we could've done before. ASC has been pretty instrumental in helping us grow."

Cuozzo also credits the ASC jewelry software with helping his company manage the many ups and downs of the jewelry business, including the millennium-fueled boom of the late 1990s and the sharp drop-off following 9-11. "Having a system in place really helped us control inventory and easily target opportunities and problem areas in both cycles," he said.

DeScenza uses just about every software module that ASC offers, including POS, sales reporting, purchase orders, Monarch data mining, appraisals and other programs. Next year, the retailer expects to integrate ASC's credit verification system into its operations as well.

The jewelry chain also is part of the Executive Committee for ASCUS, the ASC User Group, a network of more than 100 ASC jewelers who share ideas and information about how to use ASC software. ASCUS members help fund and develop many of ASC's software enhancements and reports.

"We use our annual membership dues as much as possible to fund software development," Cuozzo explained. "The software is fantastic. But we consider it a bonus. I would still want to be an ASCUS member just to talk to industry colleagues that are also using the ASC system. That type of dialogue has been invaluable to us."

While ASC's outstanding software is the magnet that draws in new customers, the firm's superior service is what keeps them within the ASC family. "ASC understands the industry as well as we do, and they've dealt with many different companies and situations," Cuozzo says. "If you''ve got a critical problem, they are on it immediately. They are very accessible and responsive."

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