Hammond reduces costly customizations and takes advantage of new functionality with Ross ERP upgrade

Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Ross ERP
Tech Stack
- Aptean Event Management Framework
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Chemicals
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
- Predictive Maintenance
Services
- System Integration
- Training
About The Customer
Hammond Group, Inc. is a global specialty chemical company with a philosophy of delivering value to its customers through technology innovation, continuous improvement driven by the quality systems and the Hammond tradition of responsive technical support. Their customers include Fortune 500 companies and many recognizable US brands. The Hammond Group is a specialty chemical company with a long tradition of providing additive chemistries intended to solve customer-specific needs. Founded in 1930, the company began manufacturing a variety of inorganic oxides and lead-based chemicals for the automotive and industrial, lead-acid battery markets. As a principle manufacturer of inorganic chemicals, Hammond has evolved over the years into a versatile, market-driven company focused on providing innovative, unique chemical solutions that bring value to their customers.
The Challenge
Hammond Group, a global specialty chemical company, had been using Ross ERP since 2006. Over time, they had extensively modified the system to accommodate their unique business needs. However, maintaining these customizations became a difficult and expensive task, preventing them from taking advantage of key Ross updates and new features like data collection, quality control, TraceExpress, or Enterprise Viewer. When Hammond learned that Ross had developed a simplified installation process, they decided it was the ideal time to move to the latest version of Ross ERP and eliminate a good deal of their custom programming.
The Solution
The Ross team helped Hammond put together a plan and schedule with milestones and a budget for the upgrade project. The upgrade also included integration of Aptean Event Management Framework, or EMF. EMF provides alerts and escalations when it sees anomalies in enterprise systems, enabling companies to address issues before they impact production. Hammond was able to eliminate 52% of the customizations and now enjoys new functionality including an improved user interface, better access to information, and improved data collection, quality, traceability, and costing capabilities. One of the most useful features, according to Vice President and CIO Gerry Kaoukis, is Document Connect which allows users to easily save, retrieve, and share not only Ross generated documents (Invoices, BOLS, etc.), but also backup documentation (e-mails, bids, specs, etc.) for all transactions performed in Ross.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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