Case Study: Mid-West  Spring Manufacturing Co.

Business Challenge:
Needed a system that would provide multi-plant management and improved customer visibility
Epicor Solution

An integrated manufacturing enterprise resource planning solution that centralized data to aid in accounting, customer support and inventory visibility.

Business Benefit:
. Streamlined operations
. Enhanced customer service
. Intelligent Analysis

Return on Investment:
. Increased inventory accuracy nearly 100 percent
. Month-end closings take five days - down from 18 days
. Data processing time reduced 75 percent
We are one of the top 10 spring manufacturers in the United States,’’ explains Randy Juen, IT manager with Mid-West Spring Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of custom springs, stampings and wire forms. ‘‘We’re a mixed-mode shop, running custom parts and also producing to and shipping from stock.’’ Along with corporate headquarters in Romeoville, Illinois, Mid-West has four manufacturing plants ------ in California, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota.
The company’s broad domestic customer base ranges from biomedical companies needing high-precision springs weighing a fraction of a pound up to heavy-industrial customers ordering springs that weigh 120 pounds. Mid-West also stocks and ships inventory from its catalog. The company is a complete, one-stop shop, serving the entire United States from its four plants with design services, prototyping and production.

Streamlined Operations:
Prior to 1998, each Mid-West plant ran its own independent legacy system. The company needed to centralize its data to aid in accounting, customer support and inventory visibility. Mid-West determined that a single unified system would save time and eliminate redundant processes, such as re-entering invoices and part numbers as a job moved through the company. Mid-West turned to Epicor Software Corporation’s Vantage solution to provide them with operational efficiency for all of their plants.
In 1998, Mid-West began running its Illinois headquarters and Minnesota plant on the Vantage solution. Since then, a new plant has been brought online approximately every eight months, with the final plant added recently. ‘‘We feel we’re still in the early stages of implementation and just coming into the fruits of our efforts,’’ comments Juen.
The Vantage Multi-Site Management module offers operational flexibility to
manage functions at plant or corporate level, while streamlining reporting and financial accounting. This module has enabled Mid-West to lower its administrative costs significantly. For example, one customer service representative now handles transactions on behalf of all plants. Customers once had to call each plant to place orders or check on existing orders.
‘‘The centralized Vantage system ensures data integrity and helps with checks and balances across the company,” explains Juen. “For example, it’s much
more efficient to have one part master, one customer master and one vendor
master in the system.”

With the Vantage Inventory Management module, Mid-West has dramatically
improved its inventory accuracy, from 87.1 percent to 99.7 percent. Overall
inventory levels have been reduced because of better visibility. ‘‘We’re able to
use slow-moving inventory we might not have been aware of before,’’ observes
Juen. ‘‘In our situation, having a decentralized approach with a central database is the best of both worlds,’’ explains Juen. ‘‘We’re able to do many more things, much more efficiently, and with a lot less effort.’’
Enhanced Customer Service

Customer service has been improved, too. Formerly one central department at
headquarters, each plant now has its own customer service department with
visibility of the entire company and in-depth knowledge of the local plant.
Previously, Mid-West’s customers often had to call multiple plants to find out
answers, and customer service personnel were frequently calling other
locations, too.

‘‘From an operational standpoint, it’s desirable to have customer service staff
onsite because they can better understand the processes and parts involved,’’
notes Juen, who adds that customer service headcount company-wide dropped by 40 percent. Customer service representatives also perform some internal
sales functions, quote follow-up and occasional trouble-shooting.

The Vantage Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module encompasses all levels of customer interaction, from lead generation through ordering and ongoing support. Juen says it has improved Mid-West’s customer visibility. ‘‘We now have complete traceability through estimating and job costing, to general ledger and financial statements, with the ability to drill down into the data,’’ he states.

Another big benefit of CRM will be bringing Mid-West’s outside salespeople
closer to the company. ‘‘For maximum benefit, these changes will require some necessary organizational development,’’ comments Juen. ‘‘It’s more than simply fllicking a switch.’’
Randy Juen, IT Manager
Mid-West Spring Manufacturing Co.

‘‘Vantage funnels nicely into our corporate goal of continuous process
improvements, and Epicor is very supportive of these initiatives,’’ explains Juen.
For example, Mid-West plants have already achieved ISO 9000 certification. The
Vantage Quality Assurance module helps document scrap and customer
returns. The centralized database makes it possible to perform cost-of-quality reporting with minimal effort.
 

In one sense, Juen believes Mid-West’s implementation of Vantage will always
be ongoing. ‘‘Epicor does a good job keeping it up-to-date, and we have a
strong learning organization in place to leverage all the system has to offer.’’

In addition to Juen, Mid-West has a designated employee ‘‘expert’’ for each
Vantage module. Trained to provide first-tier support, these experts are spread
across the company’s locations ------ for example, the AR/AP expert is in
Minnesota and the job entry expert is in Michigan.

Intelligent Analysis

Juen says the analysis tools with Vantage Business Intelligence (VBI) are
extremely powerful and easy to use, even for a non-expert. ‘‘Someone with
non-technical skill and basic database awareness can design reports and
perform analysis without needing a programmer,’’ he contends. ‘‘I’ve sliced and
diced the data myself, without having to develop programming code.’’
Processing time has also been reduced by 75 percent.

‘‘Vantage brings our entire company onto the same page, whether for servicing
our customers, calculating costs or other internal controls,’’ concludes Juen.
‘‘It’s united our whole organization.’’

Randy Juen, IT Manager
Mid-West Spring Manufacturing Co.