Case Studies A Pursuit Spanning Decades Results in a Lasting Partnership for the Future

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	A Pursuit Spanning Decades Results in a Lasting Partnership for the Future

A Pursuit Spanning Decades Results in a Lasting Partnership for the Future

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Applicable Functions	Discrete Manufacturing Quality Assurance Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases	Inventory Management Manufacturing System Automation
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Steinwall Scientific, a precision thermoplastic molder, was facing challenges due to its outdated DOS-based operating system. The system, while advanced at the time of its development, had become obsolete and was causing the company to become vulnerable and rigid. The system was unable to keep up with the company's growth and modern standards. The company's internal software, named Putty, and IBM's accounting software were standalone systems and as the company expanded, the inability of the two systems to communicate became a significant bottleneck. The company tried to upgrade to a new system called MISys, but after two years, found it wasn't robust enough, especially when it came to creating a Bill of Materials (BOM). Read More
About Customer	Steinwall Scientific, Inc. is a leading precision thermoplastic molder that specializes in engineering grade resins. The company was founded in 1965 by Carl Steinwall as a mold making company. By the mid-1970s, they started offering injection molding services and grew to $1 million in sales, 24 employees and eight injection molding machines by 1983. Carl’s daughter, Maureen, took over Steinwall Scientific in 1985 and focused on building corporate strength, creating an award-winning orientation program and offering the highest level of customer support. Today, with approximately 110 employees and 37 machines, Steinwall Scientific is a leading precision thermoplastic injection molder. Steinwall Scientific’s customers include Fortune 500 companies as well as start-up firms. A dedication to accuracy and constant strive for perfection keeps Steinwall Scientific at the top of its class in the manufacturing industry. Read More
Solution	Steinwall Scientific decided to upgrade to IQMS' EnterpriseIQ software system, a cohesive, single-database ERP software system. The transition was slow, with the company moving over only the basics and transferring all of its data out of Putty for the first three months. At around the six-month mark, Steinwall Scientific made the switch complete. The benefits of a cohesive, integrated system were quickly noticed by everyone at Steinwall Scientific as they began to work off one main system. The company also invested in IQMS' RealTime Production Monitoring module, which allowed them to monitor detailed production performance in real time. This helped the company to identify on-time and poor work center machine performance, increasing overall plant efficiency and making Steinwall Scientific proactive toward emerging problems, rather than reactive. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)

Applicable Functions

Discrete Manufacturing

Quality Assurance

Warehouse & Inventory Management

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Manufacturing System Automation

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Steinwall Scientific, a precision thermoplastic molder, was facing challenges due to its outdated DOS-based operating system. The system, while advanced at the time of its development, had become obsolete and was causing the company to become vulnerable and rigid. The system was unable to keep up with the company's growth and modern standards. The company's internal software, named Putty, and IBM's accounting software were standalone systems and as the company expanded, the inability of the two systems to communicate became a significant bottleneck. The company tried to upgrade to a new system called MISys, but after two years, found it wasn't robust enough, especially when it came to creating a Bill of Materials (BOM).

About Customer

Steinwall Scientific, Inc. is a leading precision thermoplastic molder that specializes in engineering grade resins. The company was founded in 1965 by Carl Steinwall as a mold making company. By the mid-1970s, they started offering injection molding services and grew to $1 million in sales, 24 employees and eight injection molding machines by 1983. Carl’s daughter, Maureen, took over Steinwall Scientific in 1985 and focused on building corporate strength, creating an award-winning orientation program and offering the highest level of customer support. Today, with approximately 110 employees and 37 machines, Steinwall Scientific is a leading precision thermoplastic injection molder. Steinwall Scientific’s customers include Fortune 500 companies as well as start-up firms. A dedication to accuracy and constant strive for perfection keeps Steinwall Scientific at the top of its class in the manufacturing industry.

Solution

Steinwall Scientific decided to upgrade to IQMS' EnterpriseIQ software system, a cohesive, single-database ERP software system. The transition was slow, with the company moving over only the basics and transferring all of its data out of Putty for the first three months. At around the six-month mark, Steinwall Scientific made the switch complete. The benefits of a cohesive, integrated system were quickly noticed by everyone at Steinwall Scientific as they began to work off one main system. The company also invested in IQMS' RealTime Production Monitoring module, which allowed them to monitor detailed production performance in real time. This helped the company to identify on-time and poor work center machine performance, increasing overall plant efficiency and making Steinwall Scientific proactive toward emerging problems, rather than reactive.

Impact #1	Time savings and error prevention with simple connections in all steps of the process, from packing slips to invoicing.
Impact #2	Improved inventory control and tracking with engineering change order flexibility.
Impact #3	Timely work center scheduling, capacity planning and simplified budgeting with forecasting tools.

Impact #1

Time savings and error prevention with simple connections in all steps of the process, from packing slips to invoicing.

Impact #2

Improved inventory control and tracking with engineering change order flexibility.

Impact #3

Timely work center scheduling, capacity planning and simplified budgeting with forecasting tools.

Benefit #1	Time savings of about 9 percent for supervisors due to elimination of manual record keeping tasks.
Benefit #2	99.5 percent of all lots completely accepted by customers due to precision in part production.
Benefit #3	Increased audit score from 109 percent to 115 percent due to system's traceability, visibility and precision.

Benefit #1

Time savings of about 9 percent for supervisors due to elimination of manual record keeping tasks.

Benefit #2

99.5 percent of all lots completely accepted by customers due to precision in part production.

Benefit #3

Increased audit score from 109 percent to 115 percent due to system's traceability, visibility and precision.

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Overview

A Pursuit Spanning Decades Results in a Lasting Partnership for the Future

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit