Clients Briefs
Met Pro
Met-Pro is a manufacturer of solutions for product recovery, pollution control, and fluid handling. With an aging enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Met-Pro relied on multiple manual processes that took place outside the system which meant they lacked insight into their business. To solve this and ease future growth, the company deployed ColumbusManufacturing. With a complete and integrated solution in place, the company has gained better insight into its customers, sales pipeline, and overall business; gained tighter control over operations; and laid a foundation for continued growth both organically and through acquisition.
"We want to take this company to $200, $300, $400 million a year in revenue, and to do that, we need a very good ERP solution. With ColumbusManufacturing, we have that."
Wheelabrator
Wheelabrator Group specializes in designing and manufacturing custom surface preparation and finishing solutions for a range of industries. As Wheelabrator grew rapidly, executives sought to standardize IT infrastructure and centralize global operations. Wheelabrator worked with Columbus to deploy the solution internationally. Now, Wheelabrator gains increased efficiency and improved visibility into operations and benefits from greater capacity for growth.
"Because engineers and production managers' work in the same system, they can exchange information quicker than was previously possible, improving the efficiency and accuracy of the production process."
Progress Rail
Progress Rail, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc, designs and manufactures track work components for the railroad, transit and industrial markets. Progress Rail had experienced strong growth but this had highlighted their inefficient business structures. They were looking for a solution to speed up growth through a streamlined manufacturing solution that would ease production planning and automate the purchasing process. Progress Rail selected ColumbusManufacturing and has seen immediate benefits. Big efficiency gains have been made across their 50 work centres by making use of the capacity planning functionality, allowing Progress Rail to see where issues may arise before it becomes a problem. Other benefits include:
- A 20% reduction in stock
- Purchase orders are done in a day rather than weeks
- Output has increased by 300%
- 22% saving in the finance department
"Thanks to the implementation, the output level has increased by an enormous 300%, while the amount of people has stayed the same."
Orangebox
Orangebox design and manufacture contemporary office seating for the commercial environment. They have a very complex product range with over 3000 fabrics options. They had outgrown their previous solution and selected ColumbusManufacturing as a future proof solution to help improve operational efficiency with smoother, faster transactions, freeing people to add value, not just process data.
"We see the Columbus solution as a decision-making tool as well as a transaction engine. By making better decisions, and working more productively, is where the financial return will come from. It's not about cutting jobs; it's about growing the business faster, and with less pain."
Sevcon
Sevcon is a global manufacturer electric motor control systems. They needed to replace their ageing and disparate IT systems that ran their five international sites. A lack of integration meant that business managers were unable to get an accurate, up-to-date view of the company. Sevcon implemented ColumbusManufacturing to help meet their manufacturing needs and grow with the business. It offers the flexibility that Sevcon required to manage the multiple sites in different countries. Sevcon now has a clearer visibility of the business worldwide. The solution improves inter-company trade and stock control and, as a direct result of improved business efficiencies, customers benefit from a faster, more responsive service.
"I now have a consistent overview of our global business on one screen. With a click of the mouse, I can switch between subsidiaries and compare real-time data in seconds. This is a huge improvement that adds significant value to the strategic decision making process."
CPL Aromas
CPL Aromas is an innovative fragrance manufacturer with a global customer base, 17 factories and offices spread across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. As they grew they needed a solution to keep pace and selected ColumbusManufacturing for the specific industry expertise that would support both local insight and global strategy. There key goals were around increasing operational efficiency and delivering exceptional customer service.
"It was clear that Columbus knew what they were talking about, and had the resources and commitment to deliver, using people with an industry background who had implemented ERP solutions many times before."
Muller Martini
Muller Martini has 3200 employees around the world making machinery for the printing and print finishing industries, including book binding, stitching and both soft and hard cover production. Recently there has been a growth in the service and refurbishment side of the business which has led to an increased focus on customer insight. The old disparate systems relied on many manual processes which were inefficient and prone to error. They selected ColumbusManufacturing to integrate all their processes and gain transparency across the business. This has not only saved the company time and reduced the margins for error across a number of processes but has allowed it complete visibility over its customer's needs and habits and let's it see which services it can provide.
"We can now answer customer queries quickly and authoritatively: once we have technical clarification we can produce quotes in minutes rather than hours."
Aliaxis Group
Aliaxis is a multinational group of 300 manufacturing companies which produce plastic products for fluid transport, supplying to its key market segments of building, sanitary, industrial and utilities. With many disparate systems in the group they were unable to have accurate insight and visibility across the group. They selected ColumbusManufacturing as it was an industry solution with little customization needed and they are now benefiting from increased operational efficiencies and improved visibility of information across the whole group.
"Columbus demonstrated their expertise in both the product and the manufacturing sector which gave us the confidence that they would help deliver a successful implementation. They also had the global presence to be able to deliver a project with multiple companies in multiple countries."
ExHeat
ExHeat is a manufacturer of heating and control solutions designed for hazardous environments such as the petrochemical industry. They wanted to drive operational efficiencies between the engineering and manufacturing units with ColumbusManufacturing. Their solution now creates or amends a product design in the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) functionality then automatically creates or updates bill of material records in the ERP solution. They have now been able to deliver process improvements in terms of workflow, approvals, and the publication of designs to the rest of the business.
"The savings are considerable. Quite apart from the avoidance of error there are significant productivity gains too. To say we're delighted is an understatement."
Linak
LINAK is the world's leading manufacturer of electrical actuator systems with more than 25 subsidiaries, four factories and 1600 employees. They were looking for one standardized solution that could be used throughout their operations around the world. With ColumbusManufacturing, Linak now has much more efficient handling of data, improved time savings and an elimination of errors in entries. An additional benefit from the new solution has been the optimization of internal trade in the LINAK Group and a general optimization of all the business processes.
"The implementation has gone far more smoothly than expected, and the total project time consumption has been minimized due to the energy and project resources employed before "Go Live"."
Romag
Romag is specialist glass processor and photovoltaic manufacturer. There was a lack of visibility with their old systems which led to many operational problems including issues with on time deliveries which they saw as a competitive differentiator. With ColumbusManufacturing they have put in place a controlled manufacturing process, alongside back office functions to give them the much needed functionality.
"There have been savings, and we'll calculate them in due course. But the bigger benefits are clear: how do you put a value on reliable delivery dates, financial accounting, and instant visibility into work-in-progress?"
Urbis
Urbis Lighting, part of Schréder's, manufactures public street lighting, and associated 'street furniture' such as bollards and benches. They were using multiple legacy systems which were causing inefficiencies across the business. ColumbusManufacturing has now transformed significant aspects of the factory's operations. These include touchscreen workstations, use of barcodes as well as increased discipline on the factory's manufacturing, scheduling and procurement processes.
"Columbus clearly knew manufacturing well and very quickly understood our business. Our data is far more accurate, our processes more efficient."
Thorlabs
Thorlabs has been a leading manufacturer of Photonics equipment for 20 years. After many years of growth, Thorlabs realized that they had outgrown their legacy system. The existing system could no longer support the business volume or sustain the planned growth or recent acquisitions. Furthermore, the system lacked a proper planning and production feature and didn't support the growing e-commerce requirements and the in-house web developments. Since Columbus helped Thorlabs implement their solution seven years ago, the company has added six global entities and grown their revenue 400%. The Columbus solution is now used by more than 550 global users in seven countries in addition to supporting distribution partners in 15 countries. The new system enables Thorlabs to replace an existing legacy system within 90 days of acquiring a new company.
"We needed a solution that could support fast and flexible service for our customers worldwide. The Columbus Solution exceeds these requirements on all accounts."
ODIM
ODIM is a global technology group that engineers and produces advanced and complete automated handling solutions in the offshore oil & gas, naval and power generation markets. The point of delivery is often a ship. Growth called for higher standards for systems, documentation and interaction. Implementing ColumbusADM (Advanced Discrete Manufacturing) allowed ODIM to optimize their complicated workflows and processes within one system. Employees can now access all data wherever they are, whenever they need it and across boarders and departments. The system workflows also ensure that all employees are compliant, and that all incoming tasks are followed up quickly with the correct documentation.
"Our biggest challenge is to maintain 24/7 service year round to our customers, who are all over the world and very often on ships. With the Columbus solution we are able to do this."
Lindab
Lindab develops, manufactures and markets sheet metal products for the construction industry. They were looking for a solution that increased customer satisfaction and reduced costs. They selected ColumbusManufacturing for the 35 subsidiaries spanning 31 countries. One of the key benefits they have received from the solution has been the ability for customers to order any of the 16,000 products online from where ever they are though their smartphones and have it delivered on the same day. This has led to an increase in orders and a decrease in administration. Also through the product configurator the customer can design their own unique products in a matter of minutes and get an immediate price.
"The Columbus solution has greatly improved the customers experience which has in turn led to increased sales."
Martin Professional
Martin Professional is a manufacturer and distributor of computer controlled devices for the entertainment and security industries. They have over 800 employees and work with local partners in more than 100 countries. They were looking for a solution that would help them serve their thousands of customers no matter how big they were. Martin Selected Columbus and now all Martin customers and dealers can order any products online. They have an integrated solution that connects all parts of the business from the order to manufacturing to distribution and gives them the business information they need whenever they need it.
"Columbus has been a great all-round partner with expertise and knowledge in the areas of the Martin Professional business."
Randers Tegl
Randers Tegl is a leading manufacturer of tiles. They had been using an outdated industry solution that led to a large amount of manual tasks which took up time and led to errors. Key requirements for a new solution included multiple language versions and barcoding to enable the automation of manufacturing and distribution. The solution has streamlined the whole business and the increased visibility of data has enabled the executive team have a better understanding and control of their business.
"The Columbus solution runs really well. It has cut down administration costs and we now have access to information from across the business."
Scan Press
Scan Press manufactures parts for gutters, heat exchanger plates, pressure vessels, flanges and fittings in hydraulic and mechanical presses. Their old system was leading to increasing errors and they selected Columbus to help them. They were looking for a solution where the majority of the functionality was standard and a partner who was able to translate their business requirements into a technology solution. Other requirements for Scan Press were the ability to get true visibility of their business information, customer and supplier portals and help to streamline their business processes
"The Columbus consultants are very experienced and as a customer you feel safe with them."
Vink
Vink Group is a leading manufacturer of plastic for the industrial and construction industries employing over 1000 people in 14 countries. Vink were running a number of outdated disparate systems which leading to down time and dissatisfaction of the users and customers. Vink selected a hosted solution from Columbus and they are now enjoying the benefits of one standardized solution running throughout the business and throughout the geographies.
"The new Columbus solution has greatly increased the operational efficiency of Vink."
Baltpack
Baltpack is a manufacturer of packaging. They were looking for a solution to boost performance, give them increased visibility to their critical business information, help them with their complex production planning and order fulfillment control. They were using a number of old systems and were finding it difficult to store and track materials efficiently. They now have one solution from Columbus which has led to many business benefits including:
- 80% improvement in production lead time.
- 30% decrease in inventory levels.
- 50% reduced data duplication and manual labor.
"Columbus has great industry and business experience and I am happy to recommend them to manufacturing organizations."
Lintera
Lintera, a manufacturer of wood working and machine tools, were looking for a solution to help them improve the experience they offered their customers. They selected Columbus and have seen some great benefits including the ability to analyze company data and control all of the company's resources. The new solution has helped improve the operational efficiencies of the organization through the implementation of new processes and a move to electronic documents.
"We chose Columbus because of their experience of implementation and the expertise of the industry."
Vytrolma
UAB Vytrolma manufacture sheet steel for the construction industry. They have a large product range and the production cycle times vary which had led to challenges in the business. They selected Columbus because of the industry, solutions and implementation experience. The new solution has led to increased operational efficiencies and customer satisfaction.
- 25% improvement in the accuracy of production planning
- 30% shorter product lead times
- 20% increased production accuracy
- 15% reduced inventory levels
"The Columbus project team were extremely professional. All the way through the process we had great communication with them and they helped us to make the right decisions."
Matika
Makita is a global manufacturer of power tools such as drills, saws, hammers, compressors and more. Makita were looking to automate many of their processes to improve efficiencies and customer service and selected Columbus to implement their new solution. These included financial control, customer relationship management and product support services (such as support for defective products, taking decisions on repairs under warranty or no warranty, repair pricing, billing and payment control, inventory management, parts and components).
"The Columbus solution optimizes our business, increases our efficiency and leads to better customer service."
Szynaka-Furniture
Szynaka-Furniture is a leading furniture manufacturer employing more than 750 people. They were looking to increase the controls in the production of the thousands of items they manufactured each week. They had been using several systems which were inefficient and caused delays and increased costs. To solve their issues they turned to a solution from Columbus. This integrated solution has enabled them to optimize the planning processes, gain greater control of business processes, gain faster and better quality reporting, as well as the full support of management accounting. Also they now have access to all the information and analysis in real time.
"The Columbus solution has enabled Szynaka-Furniture to integrate the whole business and the ability to analyze all operations to help make better business decisions."
