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C.E. Smith Company, Inc. ERP Case Study

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Industry

Metal Fabrication

Challenge

C.E. Smith managed a complex production environment that included both make-to-stock and custom orders. They faced significant challenges maintaining accurate inventory levels across millions of dollars in stock, integrating EDI for high-volume custom orders, minimizing paperwork and manual processes and ensuring real-time visibility into costs and margins. The absence of a unified software solution made it difficult to control costs, quote jobs accurately and drive overall operational efficiency.

Results

After implementing Global Shop Solutions ERP, C.E. Smith achieved exceptional inventory accuracy, with year-end variance on several million dollars of inventory typically under $6,000. The company reduced custom order lead times to 4-6 weeks, efficiently managed EDI orders containing 300+ SKUs and gained real-time visibility into job costs and margins. These improvements enabled C.E. Smith to process more orders with fewer staff, minimize paperwork and enhance quoting accuracy. The ERP system's comprehensive features and responsive customer support delivered measurable gains in productivity and market competitiveness.

Key Applications

Inventory, Advanced Planning & Scheduling, Job Costing Accounting, Document Control, EDI, Estimating & Quoting, Order Management

cesmith.com/
0.2%
INVENTORY VARIANCE
240x
FASTER ENTRY WITH EDI
100%
AUTOMATIC TRACEABILITY
1
COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM

Global Shop Solutions allows us to compete more effectively because we can do more with less people. Any time you can do more with less, it gives you a real edge in the marketplace.

Bo Adams

Vice President

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About C.E. Smith Company, Inc.

C.E. Smith a Greensboro, North Carolina-based manufacturer specializing in precision metal stampings, fabrications and assemblies for boating, fishing, hunting and trailer parts industries. Established in 1967, the company is ISO 9001:2008 certified and known for quality products and fast service.

The Challenge

C.E. Smith, a leader in precision metal stampings and assemblies for marine and trailer markets, operated in an environment with diverse production demands. The business needed to efficiently manage both make-to-stock and custom orders, often processing EDI transactions with 300+ SKUs and handling millions of dollars in inventory. Without an integrated ERP solution, they struggled with inventory discrepancies, manual paperwork and a lack of real-time visibility into costs, which hindered their ability to quote jobs accurately, control margins and optimize workflows.

The Solution

Recognizing the need for a unified, robust ERP platform, C.E. Smith evaluated options to address inventory control, cost management and process automation. The company selected Global Shop Solutions ERP for its comprehensive capabilities in inventory management, work order control, sales orders, cost tracking and EDI integration. According to Scott Noyes, Purchasing and IT Manager, "The fact that you can run your whole business with it. In fact, you don’t need anything but Global Shop Solutions to run it. The system is easy to use, and the customer service is great. Any time we have an issue with the software, we know we’re going to get the support we need in a timely manner." With the ERP system in place, C.E. Smith automated order processing, digitized inventory management and gained live access to critical production and financial data.

The Results

Global Shop Solutions ERP delivered measurable improvements across C.E. Smith’s operations. The company achieved less than $6,000 inventory variance on several million dollars of inventory, demonstrating industry-leading accuracy. EDI automation allowed efficient handling of orders with 300+ SKUs. Bo Adams, Vice President, noted, "At year’s end, our variance on several million dollars of inventory is typically less than six thousand dollars. And knowing where we stand with inventory at any given time improves our quoting accuracy and ability to determine margins on every job." The ERP system empowered the business to process more orders with fewer employees, minimize paperwork, and improve competitiveness.

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