Conveying Equipment Manufacturer Supports Unique, Mixed-Mode Environment with Customized ERP Software

ConveyMor is a mixed-mode manufacturer that makes hot lime conveying equipment used in the bleaching process required to produce paper. ConveyMor’s individual products — both custom and made to stock — include bucket elevators, drag and apron conveyors, lump breakers, lime proportioners, and kiln feed screws. The company is renowned worldwide for its complete conveyor systems that handle everything in a paper bleach plant between the discharge of the lime mud filter to the slaker.

The firm also has two sister companies in the area — Jones Bearing and American Pulley – that manufacture component pieces for similar types of businesses. Needless to say, keeping tabs on three separate companies makes life interesting for Andy Adams, the second-generation president of ConveyMor. Fortunately, he has a robust ERP software like Global Shop Solutions to make the task more manageable.

“We run all three companies within Global Shop Solutions using different company codes,” says Adams. “Global Shop Solutions not only makes it easy to manage the businesses separately, it also has a lot of nifty features that
facilitate smooth transactions between the separate entities.”

“For example, Jones Bearing and American Pulley frequently buy and sell parts or products from each other. When we get a customer order in one company that requires using a product that the other one makes, Global Shop Solutions allows us to automatically purchase it from the first company and enter a sales order in the second. Global Shop Solutions builds in a lot of those kinds of features, and they add up to big-time savings.”

Supporting a Mixed-Mode Environment

Prior to purchasing Global Shop Solutions ERP software, ConveyMor had a different manufacturing software program in place. The lack of integration between that system’s various applications required redundant data entry processes, and did not facilitate a smooth flow of information throughout the company.

We wanted a product that worked right out of the box but could also be easily tailored to our distinct needs. I could see that if we wanted to adapt the other product to our business environment it would require hiring their consultants to come into our facility to make the changes. With Global Shop Solutions, we could do most of it on our own. In that respect, Global Shop Solutions was the easy choice.

Andy Adams, President at ConveyMor

ERP Customization Is Important

ConveyMor engages in three different manufacturing modes: mixed, discrete products, and made-to-order. Most of their parts are custom-made. But they also make many parts to stock, and they frequently combine stock parts with custom parts for made-to-order products. This presents some real challenges when scheduling workflow, managing inventory, and tracking shop floor data.

According to Adams, Global Shop Solutions’ customizable reporting capabilities, along with its ability to seamlessly integrate with Windows-based products such as Access and Excel, enable ConveyMor to easily handle the different manufacturing modes with only one system. And unlike ConveyMor’s previous software system, Global Shop Solutions ERP software fully integrates all the data throughout the system for easy access to any level of information by anyone in the company.

Data Importing: a Real Time Saver

Adams spends time configuring Global Shop Solutions ERP software to meet the needs of ConveyMor personnel. As the overall system administrator, he particularly appreciates Global Shop Solutions’ easy and intuitive navigation.

“Unlike a lot of systems I’ve seen, it’s very easy to get from one place to another in Global Shop Solutions,” he explains. “For example, you can go from inquiry to an order, or from an order to sales history, and determine not only who you have sold the part to and at what price, but how many you sold in the last month or year. You can then use that information to manage inventory, forecast purchasing volumes, and make other important management decisions.”

In addition to configuring the ERP software, Adams also invests a significant amount of time creating custom reports for various individuals, teams, and departments. These reports do everything from allowing purchasing personnel to make better buying decisions to setting the agenda for sales meetings and simplifying the process for updating parts pricing information. Here again, Global Shop Solutions’ ability to integrate with outside software like Crystal reports enhances Adams’ ability to customize the system to meet the specific needs of his company.

A Powerful Management Tool

Competing in global manufacturing markets requires more than just making quality products that get the job done. Today’s customers demand fast turnaround times combined with superior customer service. According to Adams, the ability to deliver on these customer mandates requires a reliable ERP system backed by fast, dependable service from the vendor.

“Without question, Global Shop Solutions has improved our ability to respond to customers,” he says. “We get a lot of business by being able to quickly provide customers with a price and then sticking to it. We can do that because Global Shop Solutions makes all our costs visible.”

To learn more about how ConveyMor customized their ERP software to work for their business, read the full case study.