Supercast Foundry & Machinery Corp. ERP Case Study

The Challenge

As SFMC grew to 250-300 employees and began producing over 100 different alloys in varied production modes, the company’s existing systems became inadequate. Information silos, manual processes and inconsistent shop floor data made it difficult to maintain efficiency, control inventory, manage job status and uphold quality standards. These operational bottlenecks threatened SFMC’s ability to deliver competitively priced, high-quality castings on time, risking customer loyalty and growth potential.

The Solution

Recognizing the need for a unified and customizable platform, SFMC evaluated several ERP solutions before selecting Global Shop Solutions ERP software. The software’s robust planning, scheduling, inventory management and quality control features, combined with advanced dashboards and KPI tracking, stood out as ideal for their mixed-mode manufacturing needs. As Foundry Manager Nickol John Villareal notes, “Global Shop Solutions’ ability to forecast, allocate and monitor these requirements with ease was a major factor in our decision to implement the software. We also liked the option to build fully customized screens and programs for users’ needs.” Implementation empowered SFMC to centralize shop floor monitoring, automate critical business processes and give employees real-time job visibility. Villareal adds, “We get to ‘control’ the shop floor on our computer screens; how cool is that! Supply and Demand makes it easy to monitor open work orders on a day-to-day basis so we can see the status of every job in progress.”

The Results

The impact of Global Shop Solutions ERP on SFMC’s operations was transformative. Shop production capacity grew by 60%, enabling the company to take on more orders and improve delivery times. The rejection rate fell by a factor of six, dramatically improving product quality and reducing costly rework. Customer satisfaction scores rose from 4.1 to 4.8 out of 5, reflecting SFMC’s enhanced ability to meet client needs. With improved inventory control, automated job costing and real-time shop floor visibility, SFMC reduced both direct and indirect costs. Villareal summarizes, “Global Shop Solutions makes us more competitive as well. Lowering direct and indirect costs enables us to accommodate more jobs. Fewer rejects means better quality and less rework. Thorough job costing keeps our casting prices competitive.” Employees also benefited from better communication and enhanced problem-solving skills, positioning SFMC for ongoing growth in the global metal casting market.