MSI Mold Builders
Case Study: MSI Mold Builders
Encompix ERP Helps MSI Build Solid Growth
Mold Builder Increases Revenue While Reducing Administrative Staff
For over 30 years, MSI Mold Builders (MSI) has carved out a niche, building high quality, low maintenance, and efficient plastic molds for a variety of applications. MSI designs and builds steel and aluminum molds for injection, structural foam, rim, blow, gas assist and structural web processes, in addition to aluminum limited production injection molds. Its primary markets include the computer and business machine, medical diagnostics, material handling, sporting goods, lawn and garden, appliance, consumer electronics, heavy equipment, and transportation industries.
As the company grew to 90 employees in three locations, the shortcomings of its existing systems became more apparent. In 2000, MSI undertook a search for a new business system.
“We had outgrown our old system,” said Diana Sash, controller at MSI. “The old system was not very stable, and it took a lot of manual intervention to pull together all the information we needed to run the business efficiently, especially on the accounting side. Our business was growing and we needed a more robust system.”
MSI looked at five or six different systems, before narrowing the list down to three vendors. MSI selected Encompix ERP as the best fit for its business processes.
“We chose Encompix ERP because it was more project-based than the other systems we evaluated,” said Sash. “The integration of all the primary business system functions was very appealing. Plus, Encompix ERP was very
flexible, and the company was willing to modify the system if we needed it.”
MSI Breaks the Mold on Old Ways
MSI recognized that the new business system would affect every department and job function. There was an opportunity to improve and streamline business processes, along with a requirement that every employee be trained. To take full advantage of the opportunity ahead, MSI created a task force to “champion” the process.
Sash explained the implementation process: “The task force members’ responsibility was to work through the implementation process by learning and understanding the new system, and to be a part of the decision-making process regarding how various aspects of the system would be used. The most difficult part for us was learning enough about the system to make the best decision as to how it would be used.”
The implementation process began in February 2001, with business decisions completed at the end of May and employee training the first three weeks of June. On July 1 of that same year, MSI went live on Encompix ERP and never looked back.
In March 2007, MSI went live on Encompix ERP version 9.30, enabling further improvement of its business processes.
With Encompix ERP as a foundation, MSI has seen significant improvements in its ability to track and control costs. Sales have grown from $12 million to $16 million. The company has also, through attrition, been able to reduce administrative support staff by four individuals during this same period.
New Quote Management Module Saves Time
The nature of MSI’s mold-building business makes dealing with a large number of Requests for Quotations (RFQ) a way of life. Constructing an accurate quote, and responding to customers’ demands, is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Encompix worked closely with MSI to modify the quote module to address the unique requirements of the mold-building industry. The new module includes drop-down menus, templates and formulas to maintain consistency and improve efficiency, as well as flexible markups to address special costs for labor, material, and overhead.
“We have to respond quickly to our customers’ RFQ,” said Sash. “Without the new quotation module, the process would take twice as long. Since we have implemented the quote module, we have completed almost 25,000 quotes, saving an estimated 15-20 minutes per quote.”
CAD Integration Saves Time, Reduces Errors
To many design engineers, an ERP system just means additional work. Before upgrading to version 9.30, MSI’s design engineers had to manually input the Bills of Material (BOM) from the CAD systems into Encompix ERP. This process was not only time consuming, but also prone to error.
Once Encompix’s BOM import routine was customized for MSI’s use, many processes were built and/or upgraded to take advantage of this improvement. Standard CAD libraries were created for both Pro/ENGINEER® and SolidWorks® CAD systems that now interface directly to the Encompix Item Master. Now, the design engineer can export the CAD BOM directly into Encompix ERP.
“Eliminating manual entry of the BOM into Encompix ERP by implementing the BOM import routine has saved us an average of five hours of data entry per job, and significantly reduced BOM data entry errors. We’ve reduced the error rate from 10 percent to less than one percent,” said Sash.
Improved Efficiencies in Purchasing
Before the upgrade, MSI’s purchasing department had to constantly resolve BOM issues because the CAD systems did not interface to the item master in Encompix ERP. The BOM in Encompix ERP was manually input by the designer and then released to purchasing. “It was a cumbersome process, fraught with errors and inconsistencies that did not lend itself well to efficient purchasing procedures and processes,” said Sash.
“The purchasing department is now effectively using Dependant Demand Planning to identify the items that are released on a daily basis, and automatically generating purchase orders,” said Sash. “Now, they spend less time resolving issues, and more time on other aspects of the buying process, such as sourcing and tracking incoming shipments.”
Month-End Closing Reduced to One Day
Month end is always a stressful time for the accounting department as managers wait for updated financial and performance data.
“Prior to implementing Encompix ERP, month-end closing would take 10 days on a good month,” said Sash. “We can now close the books in a day. It’s a huge improvement.”
Automating Item Master Price Updates
Updating component prices from major suppliers was a major headache for MSI. The new prices had to be entered manually into the system. Today, MSI receives price updates from its component suppliers electronically.
“Today, we use the Encompix Item Master update program for mass updates, saving four days of administrative time and greatly reducing the number of errors,” said Sash.
Accurate Information Improves Decisions
Accurate and timely management information is crucial to the success of running any business. MSI uses Encompix partner CorVu’s Business Intelligence product to provide management with up-to-date information.
“We have written a lot of operational reports we run either daily or weekly, and post to our intranet and/or email to appropriate managers,” said Sash. “These reports enable managers to easily track job progress/costs, employee labor, and job product codes. Project managers can easily see which jobs are in trouble, and drill down into the detail to identify the problems.”
Return on Investment at a Glance:
The implementation of Encompix ERP helped MSI Mold Builders, a leader in design and manufacturer of plastic injection molds, revolutionize the way it runs its business. Specifically, MSI Mold Builders has:
• Grown sales from $12 million to $16 million.
• Reduced the time needed for month-end closing from 10 days to one day.
• Decreased response time to customers’ RFQ and saved 15-20 minutes per quote.
• Saved three to four days previously spent manually inputting new prices and reduced the number of errors.
• Streamlined the purchasing process so buyers spend less time on administrative tasks and resolving issues.
• Decreased job order creation time by an average of five hours per job and reduced errors.
“We chose Encompix ERP because it was more project-based than the other systems we evaluated. The integration of all the primary business system functions was very appealing. Plus, Encompix ERP was very flexible, and the company was willing to modify the system if we needed it.”
— Diana Sash, Controller,
MSI Mold Builders
