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Bristol Machine Company ERP Case Study

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Industry

Machine Building

Challenge

Bristol Machine faced significant operational challenges due to their legacy business management system, which lacked modern scheduling capabilities and proper integration between manufacturing and financial operations. Manual bill of materials (BOM) creation required duplicate data entry, causing inefficiencies and increasing the risk of errors. Project and cost visibility were limited, often resulting in high-value projects being delayed by missing low-cost parts. The company also needed to meet strict OEM client requirements and industry certifications, which their existing processes could not adequately support.

Results

After implementing Global Shop Solutions ERP, Bristol Machine automated BOM creation, integrated cost tracking and gained immediate insight into project expenses and completion. Customizations enabled direct access to CNC documentation and enhanced sales analysis, providing accurate financial visibility for each of their three plants. The ERP system eliminated redundant data entry, improved scheduling and minimized costly project delays, ensuring no more $50,000 projects were held up by a $10 part. These improvements have driven operational efficiency, accelerated decision-making and reinforced compliance with ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Key Applications

Advanced Planning & Scheduling, Shop Floor Data Collection, Accounting, Bill of Materials, Sales, Tailored ERP

www.bristolmachine.com/
100%
Elimination of Duplicate Entry
Hours
Saved on Shop Floor
1
Centralized System

Global Shop Solutions is a great product backed by great people. Whether you do OEM serial production parts or project-based parts; whether you’re trying to integrate finance and manufacturing; or whether you need to add in a powerful scheduling functionality, Global Shop Solutions addresses every business need you could have.

Alain Theriault

Engineering Manager

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About Bristol Machine Company

Bristol Machine is a privately-held contract, fabrication and machining company specializing in OEM parts for mining and heavy equipment manufacturers globally. Its offerings include custom machining, welding, heat treatment, chroming, gear cutting, technical support and global exports. The company is registered with the Quality Management Institute to ISO 9001:2000, and the Canadian Welding Bureau to W47.1 Division 2.1.

The Challenge

Before adopting Global Shop Solutions ERP, Bristol Machine struggled with disconnected systems that failed to communicate between manufacturing and finance. Manual processes for bills of materials led to double data entry and frequent delays. The lack of real-time cost visibility meant that large projects could be held up by minor supply chain issues - sometimes leaving $50,000 projects waiting for a $10 part. As a supplier to global mining and heavy equipment OEMs, Bristol Machine needed a solution that would unify their operations, improve efficiency and help maintain their ISO 9001:2000 certification across three plants.

The Solution

Recognizing the need for a modern, integrated ERP solution, Bristol Machine evaluated their options and selected Global Shop Solutions for its comprehensive manufacturing, financial and scheduling capabilities. According to Engineering Manager Alain Theriault, "Our previous system had no scheduling capabilities. The manufacturing piece couldn’t talk to the financial piece. And we had to enter everything twice, release everything twice and hope that we got pricing between the two correct. Our customers realized we needed an ERP system, and so did we." With Global Shop Solutions, Bristol Machine automated BOM processes, enabled cross-departmental data sharing, and tailored modules to support CNC documentation and plant-specific sales analysis. The ERP allowed them to track costs at every stage of production, ensuring project expenses were clear and timely.

The Results

The deployment of Global Shop Solutions ERP delivered measurable improvements across Bristol Machine’s operations. "Creating BOMs in Global Shop Solutions lets us track all the different work orders so they complete together to finish the entire assembly. That way, we no longer have $50,000 projects waiting on a $10 part for completion. And Global Shop Solutions links all the costs together for one final assembly, so we know as soon as a project is done how much it costs," shared Alain Theriault. The company now operates efficiently across three plants, each with clear financial oversight: "One of the real strengths of Global Shop Solutions is that it makes our financial status easily visible at any time. We operate three separate plants, and we’ve made a few customizations to sales analysis that allow us to individually see the financial health of each plant." Bristol Machine has successfully eliminated duplicate data entry and improved scheduling accuracy. Key metrics include operational oversight across three plants, elimination of costly project waiting times and maintaining compliance with ISO 9001:2000 standards.

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