Plex Systems > Case Studies > Coastal Automotive Enhances Operations with Plex ERP for Improved Efficiency and Compliance

Coastal Automotive Enhances Operations with Plex ERP for Improved Efficiency and Compliance

Customer Company Size

Mid-size Company

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Plex
IMPAXX™ foam

Tech Stack

ERP
Mobile App
Barcode Scanning

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Productivity Improvements
Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Applicable Functions

Warehouse & Inventory Management
Business Operation

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Predictive Maintenance
Process Control & Optimization

Services

System Integration
Training

About The Customer

Coastal Automotive is a privately-owned company based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, specializing in innovative engineered material technologies for safety applications in the automotive, commercial, and motorsport sectors. The company is renowned for its high-performance energy solutions, supplying to major automakers across North America and serving as NASCAR’s premier energy management provider. Coastal Automotive's IMPAXX™ foam is a key product used to enhance vehicle safety by providing stable impact response while reducing development costs. The company has received multiple accolades, including GM Supplier of the Year Awards and GM Supplier Quality Excellence Awards. Despite its success, Coastal Automotive continues to innovate and improve its business processes to support growth and maintain its leadership in the industry.

The Challenge

Coastal Automotive faced significant challenges as it rapidly expanded, outgrowing its existing point inventory system. The company struggled with inventory traceability, which was only possible through spreadsheets, making it difficult for teams to have visibility into job management. Compliance audits were also cumbersome, requiring extensive manual preparation and verbal explanations. These challenges hindered the company's ability to scale efficiently and maintain its competitive edge in the automotive industry.

The Solution

To address its operational challenges, Coastal Automotive implemented Plex, a comprehensive ERP platform, to replace its outdated inventory management system. The transition to Plex was smooth, facilitated by the Plex Customer Success and Support (CSS) implementation team. Coastal Automotive's employees underwent extensive training on a test database, ensuring they were comfortable with the platform before going live. The deployment of Plex transformed the company's operations, enabling machine operators to manage and dispatch jobs more efficiently. The shift from spreadsheets to mobile devices allowed the production team to record raw material consumption and inventory transactions seamlessly. The shipping team utilized smart scanners connected to Plex via a mobile app, streamlining the recording of information. The mobile ERP system also provided Coastal Automotive's staff with the flexibility to monitor processes remotely, enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.

Operational Impact

Coastal Automotive significantly improved its inventory management by transitioning from spreadsheets to a mobile ERP system, allowing for more accurate and efficient inventory counts.
The implementation of Plex enabled the company to streamline compliance audits, reducing the timeline from two days to just hours, and achieving a perfect score on an International Automotive Task Force (IATF) audit.
The mobile ERP system facilitated better process monitoring and control, allowing Coastal Automotive to quickly identify and address production inefficiencies, leading to reduced scrap rates and more efficient production runs.
The deployment of Plex enhanced shop floor productivity by simplifying job management and dispatching, reducing redundant work, and enabling operators to trace processes back to their origins.
Coastal Automotive's decision-makers gained improved visibility into operations, allowing for quicker responses to issues and more effective guidance of the company's growth strategy.

Quantitative Benefit