Metal fabricators are constantly trying to find ways to drive costs out of production in order to maximize profit margins. This goal, however, is made more difficult in today’s environment of fluctuating raw material costs, variable metal prices, rising energy and transportation costs, and reduced consumer discretionary spending. Growing competition from emerging countries, condensed product lifecycles, an increase in the number of product configurations, and complicated supply chains all add further levels of complexity. The purpose of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is to have computers work out the
complications and then to optimize your business results.
H & H Tube provides an example. The company has been industry leader in tubular redraw and fabrication for over 80 years. It engineers products for industrial manufacturing and distribution to a wide range of industries. From standard straight lengths, to refrigeration coils, to tight-tolerance cutting, to hydroforming, H & H can manufacture virtually any custom tubular part. The company focuses on the needs of its customers, providing quality products, on-time delivery, competitive pricing, and unparalleled customer service – a philosophy that is paramount to the company’s success.
A continually growing business and increased operational needs prompted H & H in 1999 to install SyteLine ERP, in part for its robust asset management capabilities. SyteLine ERP has a fixed asset module and plant maintenance module built in, to maintain the assets of manufacturers today, from Serialized Asset Tracking to Repairable Spare Management, and many other features.
But different users have some common needs from their ERP systems. At a certain point, the data contained in an ERP system may need to be brought out of the system and used for other purposes. ERP data is extracted, manipulated, analyzed, and presented using business productivity software like Microsoft Office programs. The ease and speed with which ERP data can be moved to and from a business productivity system directly affects the competitiveness of the manufacturing organization, and the overall business value of the ERP system. SyteLine ERP allows users to easily extract data outputs to e-mail, Excel, PDF, other file formats and printer report options.
It all requires training and cooperation from the software vendor. “Upgrading a software system can be intimidating,” says Sandy, “but Godlan has far exceeded our expectations in helping us with the implementation and ensuring a trouble-free transition. They are willing to share, teach, and train .”
For H&H Tube, consulting and training began in a formal, on-site format specific to their business requirements. As the team began to expand and use new features and functionality, Godlan provided training and consulting to help them streamline and automate processes. Only project leads within the company were trained as Godlan used the train-the-trainer approach with H&H. The project leads were familiar with the previous version of the software and were able to train others as needed.
If you’re considering an ERP upgrade, or if you’re getting involved with it for the first time, that’s where you start.
