Serving Frederick, Carroll, Harford & Cecil Counties in Maryland
Jennifer and Dan McGrath are the owners of Galvinell Meat Company which has been a staple in the Cecil County, MD community since it was founded in 1967. When the SBDC was called into Galvinell's in early 2015, owners Jennifer and Dan were feeling overwhelmed with the mounds of work to be done and workplace organization. Being an old school butcher shop today is more difficult than what one may think: competition, diet fads, and rising cost of goods is something that affects their business every day.
When SBDC counselors first began tackling Galvinell’s problems, an evaluation of their financials was performed. It was quickly discovered that their bottom line was not up to par with industry standards, and an evaluation of the business needed to be performed. After shadowing operations, interviewing owners and employees, and conducting strategic planning sessions, it was learned that Jennifer no longer had the time to grow the business. She was overworked in the office handling paperwork while Dan spent his days in the back managing the butchering facility. As a way to save time for Jennifer and to reduce work related stress, together Galvinell and the SBDC made it a mission to acquire an integrated Point of Sales System.
SBDC Counselors began working closely with TEDCO, a State of Maryland program that funds technology companies in the idea, start-up, and expansion stage. During the proposal process, it was determined that TEDCO was not able to fund the entire project which put the entire POS project in jeopardy. SBDC counselors began searching for additional funding and identified The Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO)and the Cecil County Office of Economic Development as additional funders. The SBDC worked with all parties to reach a solution and through great collaboration and team work, the project was fully funded and Galvinell would receive a much needed upgraded POS system. Although a butcher shop is not close to being a technology company, a POS System is a technological upgrade; therefore, TEDCO (with the help of MARBIDCO and Cecil County OED)agreed to fund a POS System for Galvinell. The system provided Galvinell with integrated scales to weigh their product, inventory tracking, shipping information, customer loyalty program, returns, re-order notifications, label printer, bar code scanner, and Quickbooks. The proposal also included training for Jennifer to learn how to use the Quickbooks accounting system herself.
With this update, Galvinell is heading in the right direction. A business can have that old school atmosphere, but yet have modern technology. Jennifer and Dan are looking forward to the new changes that will be happening in their business, and continue to thank the SBDC for all of the assistance and support.
Posted: 08/04/2017
