Western Container Corporation ERP Case Study

The Challenge

Western Container has a long-standing reputation in the manufacturing of spiral wound paper tubes and precision cores. However, their operations were hampered by outdated legacy accounting software and reliance on third-party scheduling tools. This fragmented approach resulted in limited data visibility, inefficiencies in quoting and production tracking and a lack of integrated customer management. As the manufacturing landscape increasingly demanded real-time insights and responsive service, Western Container recognized the urgent need for a modern, unified ERP solution to overcome these challenges and position the company for future growth.

The Solution

After evaluating their options, Western Container selected Global Shop Solutions ERP for its comprehensive manufacturing, customer service and financial management capabilities. The decision was driven by the software's ability to address every operational pain point identified by the team. President Jeff Perrigo remarked, “From the start, I was impressed with the capabilities of the software and the knowledge of the sales rep. Every time I mentioned a problem, he knew exactly what I was talking about and said Global Shop Solutions had a solution for it.” The company quickly adopted modules for shop floor control, quoting, CRM, scheduling and inventory management. Employees found the transition intuitive and immediately began to see improvements in workflow and data accessibility. Jeff Johnson from the estimating team shared, “Not only can we track labor more accurately, we can also work up quotes faster and with greater precision. Creating quotes now takes half the time it used to.”

The Results

Within two years of implementation, Western Container achieved transformative results. The company reported quote creation times that were 50% faster, more accurate labor and cost tracking and real-time shop floor visibility. Monthly inventory and financial closing processes became more efficient, freeing up valuable resources for other operational priorities. Crystal Straight, overseeing financial operations, highlighted, “The visibility of data within Global Shop Solutions is superb. The AP Dashboard lets me see which bills are due, so I can estimate the amount we will spend by the end of the month. The AR Dashboard shows what invoices are due and how much cash we have coming in – all from one screen.” With these capabilities, Western Container now operates with heightened efficiency, responsiveness and confidence in their data-driven decision-making. Key metrics include a 50% reduction in quote creation time, reduced inventory process time and real-time shop floor visibility, positioning the company to meet evolving customer and industry demands.