OKAY Industries faced a significant challenge in managing its operations due to the existence of 18 different databases that were not integrated with the company's UNIX server. This fragmentation made it difficult to compile detailed information necessary for continuous improvement in operational efficiency. The company needed a solution that could integrate its entire operation, streamline data management, and support its culture of continuous improvement. Additionally, OKAY Industries had to comply with new ISO standards and requirements, which added another layer of complexity to its operations.

FloraCraft faced challenges with its legacy ERP system, which was unable to keep up with the company's growing needs. The existing system, MXP ERP, provided limited visibility into operational capabilities and financial status, and the warehouse management system, WHSe-LINK, had a lag time in data updates. The company needed a more integrated and real-time solution to manage its expanded product lines and increased lead times for overseas manufacturing operations. Additionally, the manual verification process for universal product codes (UPCs) was prone to errors, which was a significant issue given the company's 3,500 SKUs.

American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) faced significant challenges in gaining real-time visibility into its manufacturing operations across its two main divisions: driveline and metal forming products business unit (MFPBU). Each division operated with separate ERP systems, leading to difficulties in consolidating data for a comprehensive view of performance. The lack of a unified system hindered the management team from effectively planning capacity, driving quality, and understanding the financial status of the business. The need for a single, integrated ERP system was critical to achieving operational excellence, quality, and technology leadership.

Polamer Precision faced several challenges in the aerospace industry, including meeting stringent quality standards and regulatory requirements, competing against larger companies with sophisticated processes, and dealing with paper-based processes that hindered cross-functional visibility. The company was not large enough to justify a major ERP implementation but needed a scalable system to support rapid growth. The reliance on paper-based processes made it difficult to optimize production and meet the demands of their operation.

G&W Products faced significant challenges with their existing ERP system, which was not user-friendly and made it difficult to access critical information needed for business decisions. The company had to rely on manual, paper-based processes, leading to issues with inventory management and traceability. Identifying capacity restraints and order statuses was a lengthy, manual process that consumed valuable resources. This inflexibility prompted G&W to search for a new ERP system that could support its growth and streamline operations.

When Wisco Industries’ customers began requesting advanced capabilities such as integrated quality and EDI, the company knew it needed a new ERP system. Its previous platform didn’t integrate with other business systems and lacked adequate functionality for controlling inventory. It also required lengthy upgrades that disrupted production. Hoping to eliminate the data siloes that made it difficult to meet customer needs, Wisco Industries began researching cloud-based solutions. Losing production time to upgrade a complex ERP system is something that would make any manufacturer cringe. Yet, it happens. But for Wisco Industries the pain didn’t stop there. Along with the complicated upgrades, the company also had a lot of external systems that didn’t interface at all—like quality documentation, SPC, and even human resources information like employee vacation time.

Private-label manufacturer Shank’s Extracts was growing increasingly frustrated with its ineffective legacy ERP system. Inventory was hard to locate, and it was difficult to know what or how much was on hand to fulfill orders. Quality certifications still required manual document gathering and lengthy prep cycles, especially given critical data was locked in separate systems and difficult to compile. The Shank’s team knew it was time to find a solution that eliminated heavy IT infrastructure and hardware investments. They wanted something modern, something cloud-based and something that would positively impact their business. As a private label manufacturer, Shank’s Extracts faces complex supply chain, production, and quality challenges. There are many moving parts across several products that all have to work in concert with each other in order to meet customer demand. The company currently has about 2,400 active formulas for its vanilla and other extracts with 3,300 SKUs for finished goods—and growing. Focusing on quality and on-time delivery is an all-encompassing endeavor, which is why Shank’s decided to move from its legacy ERP system to cloud ERP. Two of the company’s subsidiaries are in different states and an on-premise solution just couldn’t provide the kind of access Shank’s needed.

Quatro Composites faced a significant challenge in managing its rapid growth and the complexity of its operations. The company had inherited an IFS ERP solution from its sister company, which did not meet its needs. This led to an exhaustive search for a new ERP/MRP solution that could handle multi-location access, scalability, and a low total cost of ownership (TCO) over ten years. The existing system was heavily reliant on manual data entry through spreadsheets and Access databases, which was inefficient and prone to errors. Quatro needed a solution that could automate data collection and provide a centralized, integrated system for managing business operations and data storage. The company also required a system that could support collaborative processes, eliminate departmental siloes, and improve data integrity to speed up product development. Additionally, Quatro aimed to reduce scrap across the organization and needed a system that could provide comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities to track progress and savings for continuous improvement.

HK Metalcraft faced several challenges with its legacy ERP system, which was no longer able to handle the increasing complexity of customer demands and expectations. The system's limitations led to inefficiencies, such as an abundance of work in process (WIP) and difficulties in tracking and traceability due to the lack of serialized inventory. Additionally, the highly-customized nature of the ERP system meant that IT personnel were spending more time maintaining it rather than focusing on other critical tasks. The company's president, Joshua Hopp, recognized the need for a more manageable and efficient system that could support the company's growth and operational needs.

As a fast-growing contract packaging company, Aaron Thomas Co. recognized that its customer relationships are a great competitive weapon. But to maintain such rapid growth, the status quo of legacy applications, paper and manual processes just weren’t going to cut it anymore. Aaron Thomas Company had one eye on securing its future growth and the other on maintaining its performance levels and quality. This is something that has earned the company accolades such as “Contract Manufacturing Supplier of the Year” – and it is what drove Aaron Thomas Company to set out to find an ERP that could help solve some of its most pressing business challenges. Dealing with customers in highly regulated industries like food, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, Aaron Thomas needs to track 100 percent of their inventory at all times. And as a contract packager, customers fully rely on them for centralized inventory visibility, quality controls and the traceability to perform recalls in a short period of time. To top it off, it was critical to find a new system that could be implemented quickly and scale with a quickly growing business.

With labor-intensive, antiquated production systems in place, Sanders was experiencing slow or hindered business performance. The team wanted to improve its agility to meet rising demand and take advantage of seasonal production opportunities. That meant bringing in an efficient system that allowed real-time tracking, improved traceability, and accurate forecasting abilities. Historically, Sanders has been renowned for the exceptionally fine quality of their chocolates. However, a shorter span of time in between seasons and rising demand meant they needed to start seasonal production earlier each year. In addition, exporters wanted to start shipping Sanders chocolates all over the world. The stakes were higher than ever before, and the processes that were working for Sanders up until now would no longer be able to support their new growth trajectory or support their vision for the company. Simply put, what Sanders wanted was better scalability, visibility, traceability, and accessibility –– and their old manual systems were falling short on all counts.

Facing its launch as an independent company, Motus Integrated Technologies needed to move off its QAD MFG/PRO manufacturing system. Motus aimed to upgrade to a new level of solution that would enable it to address its leading business challenges. The company’s paper-based processes limited visibility into production and inventory, and heavy use of spreadsheets hindered analysis of financial and production data. Seeking to implement common business processes on three continents, Motus began looking for a cloud-based ERP solution. As Motus evaluated potential ERP solutions, the company had several priorities. First, because Motus would have faced penalties for not moving off of Johnson Controls’ system promptly, any potential solution had to go live quickly. Second, the new company didn’t want to be burdened with implementing and maintaining a system in house where they’d have to manage databases. Given these priorities, moving to a cloud solution just made sense— and so Motus chose Plex.

Hausbeck Pickles and Peppers faced significant challenges in managing their inventory and production processes. The company relied heavily on paper-based processes, which limited visibility into their largest asset, inventory. This lack of visibility made it difficult to manage inventory costs effectively throughout the production process. The situation was exacerbated by a failed mock audit, highlighting the need for better control over ingredient tracking and traceability. The CFO realized that the data from their accounting system was not aligning with actual inventory costs, leading to discrepancies and missing inventory. The company used QuickBooks for accounting and another system for inventory, but these systems lacked integration and costing capabilities. Additionally, tracking and tracing ingredients through production was cumbersome and time-consuming, relying on multiple spreadsheets and manual processes.

After acquiring another manufacturer, Gill Industries needed to quickly standardize on a single ERP with the ability to centralize operational data. As an organization that relied heavily on QuickBooks and spreadsheets to manage its business and production, the team was challenged by its new executive leadership to track and report performance metrics across the organization, for all eight facilities. Its legacy ERP system required heavy IT resources, maintenance and upgrades, so a quick move to a less cumbersome system was a priority. One of the challenges in the aftermath of an acquisition is to determine which systems the newly formed company will standardize on and use to run the business. Gill Industries, a supplier of advanced mechanisms and welded assemblies, was in this position in 2015 when it acquired GR Spring & Stamping. Prior to the acquisition, Gill had three different ERP systems (IQMS, QAD, and MAPICS) and was in the process of rolling out IQMS as its standard.

Eurotranciatura Mexico faced significant challenges in maintaining product quality and operational efficiency due to its aging AS/400 system. The company needed to address these issues to support its growth ambitions, especially as customers in the automotive industry demanded higher quality standards. Additionally, the company had to manage large up-front investments in machinery and adapt quickly to changing customer requirements, which necessitated a more efficient and flexible system.

A&K Finishing faced several challenges in its operations, primarily due to outdated systems and fragmented processes. The company relied heavily on spreadsheets and a Great Plains accounting system, which led to inefficiencies and inaccuracies. Physical inventory counts were time-consuming and often inaccurate, causing delays and disruptions in the production process. Managers spent a significant amount of time on data entry, up to 85%, which detracted from their ability to focus on strategic tasks. Quality control issues were prevalent, leading to production delays and impacting customer satisfaction. The lack of a unified system made it difficult for departments to share data seamlessly, resulting in fragmented business processes. A&K Finishing recognized the need for a robust ERP system to streamline operations, improve data accuracy, and enhance overall efficiency.

Argent International faced significant challenges with its existing ERP system from QAD, which was cumbersome for end users and introduced process disruptions with every upgrade. The system failed to provide critical visibility into capacity and inventory, leading to scheduling problems, missed delivery deadlines, and a reliance on error-prone and time-consuming manual inventory processes. These issues were particularly problematic for Argent, a company that competes on quality, as they hindered its ability to maintain high standards and efficient operations.

The global food and beverage industry faces significant challenges, including the need for full product traceability across the supply chain, quality stock on demand, and maintaining profitable price points. Companies like Old Mill Kettle Corn (OMKC) and Green Flash Brewing Co. are under pressure to adapt to these demands while managing growth and maintaining their unique brand values. OMKC, for instance, faced the challenge of transitioning from paper-based production management to a more efficient system to handle new distribution offers and expansion. Similarly, Green Flash Brewing Co. needed an ERP system that could support their vision of innovation and expansion while preserving their 'beer first' philosophy.

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.

FCC North America, a leading clutch assembly manufacturer, faced the challenge of modernizing its paper-based shop floor processes to efficiently serve a growing number of automakers. The need for digitization became more pressing after a tsunami in Japan forced the company to reconsider its on-premise computing approach. This event led FCC to explore cloud solutions, marking a significant shift in its ERP evaluation process. The company recognized that to remain competitive and meet the demands of new customers, it needed to adopt a modern enterprise resource planning system that could streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Horizon Technology faced several challenges as a growing company in the complex powder metal industry. Operating on three disparate software platforms, the company struggled with product quality control and traceability, which were crucial for innovation. The aging AS/400 system made product traceability difficult, and the lack of a dedicated IT staff limited options for on-premises software installations. Additionally, Horizon's small size relative to competitors forced it to work smarter to prove itself to prospective customers. The company needed a more sophisticated, fully integrated platform to manage its complex business and support its growth plans.

Olde Thompson faced significant challenges with its outdated SQL UNIX ERP system, which was heavily customized and unable to support the company's aggressive growth plans. The system's limitations made it difficult to determine product costs, profitability, and discount strategies, hindering the company's ability to land new customers. Additionally, the lack of a modern software platform impeded the company's ability to coordinate supply chain and production planning effectively. The need for a scalable cloud platform became evident as Olde Thompson sought to improve customer service levels, support EDI transactions, enforce quality standards, and reduce paperwork.