The Cleveland Punch & Die Company ERP Case Study

The Challenge

Cleveland Punch & Die struggled to manage the complexity of its operations. Relying on an outmoded AS400 system and manual workflows, the company faced significant inefficiencies. Data silos impeded access to critical information, inventory tracking was cumbersome and tribal knowledge limited order entry and customer service to a handful of experienced individuals. This environment made it increasingly difficult to maintain high standards of quality and responsiveness for a customer base spanning thousands of distributors and end users.

The Solution

Recognizing the urgent need for modernization, Cleveland Punch & Die evaluated ERP solutions to replace their legacy system. Their search led them to Global Shop Solutions, initially attracted by its robust customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. As Kyle Brown, Director of Business Development, shared: "As a company, we're totally customer driven. And with tens of thousands of customers in our database, we wanted to find a way to track customer data in a more efficient manner. We started looking at Global Shop Solutions because of its robust customer relationship management (CRM) application. But the more we looked at the software, the more we were impressed by other aspects of the system." The decision to implement Global Shop Solutions ERP provided the company with integrated modules for CRM, inventory control, advanced planning and scheduling and shop floor data collection. This enabled a full transition away from manual, paper-based processes and allowed for staff cross-training and improved data access across the business.

The Results

The impact of Global Shop Solutions ERP was immediate and far-reaching. All customer data is now centralized, giving every team member access to consistent, up-to-date information. "With Global Shop Solutions, all customer data resides in the system so that everyone has access to the same knowledge. We usually only have to talk to the customer once to get the information we need. Our goal is to know as much or more than the customer does about their own machines and tooling requirements," said Kyle Brown. Cross-training became a reality: "In the past, we had a small group of people who had the knowledge to enter sales orders. Now, our entire customer service staff can enter sales orders, generate work orders and get them out into the manufacturing process. And that feeds directly into our customer-centric philosophy." Real-time shop floor visibility transformed production management: "With Global Shop Solutions, we can see right down to the minute what employees are working on, where a part is in the shop and whether it will be completed on schedule. This ability to accurately track parts through every step of the production process gives us a level of control we never had before." With over 50 employees and tens of thousands of inventory parts, the company now meets the needs of more than 120 OEMs and thousands of customers with greater efficiency, accuracy and responsiveness.