The Challenge
Following a significant restructuring in 2009, Craftsman Specialty Products needed to control administrative costs while scaling production to meet growing and varied customer demand for custom wood components. Operating without an integrated ERP system, the company experienced inefficiencies such as slow order processing, limited visibility into real-time costs and margins and increased strain on their lean administrative team. The need for accurate cost tracking, automation and real-time data became critical to maintaining productivity and profitability as the company continued to serve markets in Canada, the United States and Japan from its 23,000-square-foot Vancouver facility.
The Solution
Recognizing the need for operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making, Craftsman Specialty Products reimplemented Global Shop Solutions ERP software. The decision was reinforced by staff with prior experience using the system, who immediately recognized its value and advocated for its return. Founder and President Richard Wilson recalls, "Global Shop Solutions is such a large, powerful software that I wondered whether we really needed it in our smaller business. But within three months, staff who came from an old company began asking when we were going to bring it back. When we reinstalled Global Shop Solutions, you could feel tensions in the office begin to ease as people started to get their operating efficiencies back. All our people are huge fans of the Global Shop Solutions system." With the ERP in place, Craftsman Specialty Products automated workflows and gained access to real-time insights, enabling the company to better manage costs, margins and repeat business.
The Results
After reimplementing Global Shop Solutions ERP, Craftsman Specialty Products achieved measurable improvements across key operational metrics. The company now processes repeat orders in minutes and generates financial statements within 24 hours of month-end. With over 70% of business consisting of repeat orders, the ERP system's automation and data visibility have been instrumental in supporting growth without increasing indirect costs. Richard Wilson emphasizes the impact: "With Global Shop Solutions, I know exactly what my costs are, where my margins come from, and where I need to improve. I can track profit margins by customer, product line or geographic region. I can determine the margins for individual products. I can even drill right down to specific components within a product to see how much margin we make on them. Other ERP systems can do this, but not as easily and effortlessly as Global Shop Solutions. The speed at which we can react to problems or capitalize on ideas is very impressive!" The ability to see real-time profitability data has greatly improved decision-making: "Accounting is often accused of being too historical. But with Global Shop Solutions, it's like getting live information. When an order closes, we'll have it closed, shipped and invoiced all within a few hours. I see the profitability of that job within hours of closing, which is very helpful with repeat orders." As a result, the company has successfully supported both large-scale and single-unit orders, automated performance metrics tracking, and maintained cost control while growing the business with a team of 30+ employees. "Competing in today's markets is all about knowing your costs and having a highly efficient information system so you can grow the business without growing indirect costs. With Global Shop Solutions, I can do both," concludes Wilson.
