Mac Machine Company, Inc. ERP Case Study

The Challenge

As Mac Machine grew its reputation for precision manufacturing in aerospace, defense and medical sectors, it encountered significant operational hurdles. Managing a 20,000-square-foot facility and processing complex, high-volume orders for clients like Honeywell required extensive manual data entry, paper-based order management and reactive scheduling. These outdated methods resulted in inefficiencies, including 30 hours per week dedicated to manual order tracking and excessive reliance on paper reports, limiting the company's ability to respond quickly to production changes and customer demands.

The Solution

Facing the need for greater automation and visibility, Mac Machine evaluated modern ERP solutions to address its challenges. After careful consideration, the team selected Global Shop Solutions ERP for its robust integration capabilities, advanced planning and scheduling (APS), electronic data interchange (EDI) and shop floor data collection. The implementation process focused on automating the import of high-volume client data, digitizing work order delivery and enabling flexible, real-time scheduling. As ERP Software Administrator Alvin Moore explains, "Because the Honeywell report contains so many forecasted orders, I had to figure out the best way to handle them in regards to scheduling. It took a bit of trial and error to determine the most efficient way to use EDI, but now the whole process is automated. Global Shop Solutions electronically imports the Honeywell data. I run the EDI report once a week on Monday night. On Tuesday we run the shop action required report. Global Shop Solutions tells us everything we need to do without spending 30 hours on manual labor." The shift to paperless operations, supported by Shop Floor Data Collection stations, further eliminated redundant workflows: "In addition to speeding up workflow, going paperless with the Shop Floor Data Collection stations has eliminated many redundant work processes. For example, previously a paper work order was distributed throughout the floor. Now, all work orders are created and delivered electronically through the Global Shop Solutions system - another small change that has contributed to big improvements in job efficiencies."

The Results

With the implementation of Global Shop Solutions ERP, Mac Machine achieved remarkable gains in manufacturing automation and efficiency. Manual order tracking time plummeted from 30 hours to just 3 hours per week, freeing up staff for higher-value tasks. The company now manages over 3,500 order lines with real-time visibility and accuracy. Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) provides unmatched flexibility, as described by Alvin Moore: "What I really like about APS is its amazing flexibility. The system allows us to schedule in many different ways. It lets us schedule forward or backwards. It lets us schedule finitely or infinitely. And when a customer calls in with a last minute change, APS handles it with ease. We can put in the new work order, rerun the schedule and see exactly where it fits and which jobs it pushes behind. All we do is enter the job data and APS does the scheduling for us!" The move to a paperless shop floor eliminated 50 pages of reports, reducing redundancy and improving job efficiencies.