Case Studies Merritt Reaches Digital Inflection Point with SYSPRO

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	Merritt Reaches Digital Inflection Point with SYSPRO

Merritt Reaches Digital Inflection Point with SYSPRO

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries	Transportation
Applicable Functions	Business Operation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Digital Thread Inventory Management Process Control & Optimization Warehouse Automation
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Merritt’s need to digitally transform was accelerated to meet the needs of a changing customer-preference world. With its existing solution unable to adapt, Merritt required a technology solution that was tightly integrated with its business plans to customize orders and handle tens of thousands of parts rather than hundreds of parts as in the past. The company had two distinct requirements: acquiring an ERP solution that was flexible enough to take the company into whatever future opportunities might arise and finding the right qualities in its ERP vendor partner. Merritt wanted to streamline an interface for the company’s salespeople to handle the new order entry requirements and secondly to ensure that the Bill of Materials system interfaced seamlessly to those orders. Read More
About Customer	Established in 1951, Merritt Trailers, Inc. and sister company Merritt Aluminum Products manufacture market-leading livestock and commodity trailers as well as aluminum parts and accessories for the trailer/trucking industry. The company grew its business reach throughout the U.S. and Canada, and today continues to offer world-class trailer and related aluminum parts manufacturing, superior service and access to its products via a wide dealer network. Merritt began as a small automotive and welding shop in Portland, Oregon, and has since grown into a significant player in the transportation and agricultural markets by focusing on superior quality of design and better construction. The company has a strong reputation and network within these markets, offering a wide range of products and services. Read More
Solution	Merritt uses a full suite of SYSPRO 8 applications spanning financial modules, Bill of Materials, Quotations & Estimates, Requirements Planning, Factory Documentation, Lot Traceability, Product Configurator, Forecasting, and Reporting. SYSPRO met Merritt’s digital transformation customization and market growth requirements. Importantly, it was easy to learn and use, which helped employees adapt to the new system. In addition, SYSPRO delivered the flexibility needed to support future growth and innovation. Merritt’s thorough ERP industry evaluation led it to SYSPRO. Quickly discarding the large ERP industry giants because management did not see a cultural or personalized fit, the company’s experience with SYSPRO during the initial review cycle and subsequently through the nearly 10 years after deployment is giving the company exactly what it wanted as well as the means to support future growth and innovation. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Digital Thread

Inventory Management

Process Control & Optimization

Warehouse Automation

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Merritt’s need to digitally transform was accelerated to meet the needs of a changing customer-preference world. With its existing solution unable to adapt, Merritt required a technology solution that was tightly integrated with its business plans to customize orders and handle tens of thousands of parts rather than hundreds of parts as in the past. The company had two distinct requirements: acquiring an ERP solution that was flexible enough to take the company into whatever future opportunities might arise and finding the right qualities in its ERP vendor partner. Merritt wanted to streamline an interface for the company’s salespeople to handle the new order entry requirements and secondly to ensure that the Bill of Materials system interfaced seamlessly to those orders.

About Customer

Established in 1951, Merritt Trailers, Inc. and sister company Merritt Aluminum Products manufacture market-leading livestock and commodity trailers as well as aluminum parts and accessories for the trailer/trucking industry. The company grew its business reach throughout the U.S. and Canada, and today continues to offer world-class trailer and related aluminum parts manufacturing, superior service and access to its products via a wide dealer network. Merritt began as a small automotive and welding shop in Portland, Oregon, and has since grown into a significant player in the transportation and agricultural markets by focusing on superior quality of design and better construction. The company has a strong reputation and network within these markets, offering a wide range of products and services.

Solution

Merritt uses a full suite of SYSPRO 8 applications spanning financial modules, Bill of Materials, Quotations & Estimates, Requirements Planning, Factory Documentation, Lot Traceability, Product Configurator, Forecasting, and Reporting. SYSPRO met Merritt’s digital transformation customization and market growth requirements. Importantly, it was easy to learn and use, which helped employees adapt to the new system. In addition, SYSPRO delivered the flexibility needed to support future growth and innovation. Merritt’s thorough ERP industry evaluation led it to SYSPRO. Quickly discarding the large ERP industry giants because management did not see a cultural or personalized fit, the company’s experience with SYSPRO during the initial review cycle and subsequently through the nearly 10 years after deployment is giving the company exactly what it wanted as well as the means to support future growth and innovation.

Impact #1	SYSPRO’s ability to enable customization by keeping track of quantities of materials has given Merritt full visibility of its organization. This has shortened development time and enhanced operational efficiency across the two companies with their different brands and manufacturing philosophies.
Impact #2	Based on a combination of a great user interface and the system’s ability to interface with other Merritt solutions easily, processes and reports that once took a week or more to complete are now executed in five minutes or less.
Impact #3	Even though the company is facing competitive challenges from much larger industry players, Merritt is maintaining both profitability and market leadership.

Impact #1

SYSPRO’s ability to enable customization by keeping track of quantities of materials has given Merritt full visibility of its organization. This has shortened development time and enhanced operational efficiency across the two companies with their different brands and manufacturing philosophies.

Impact #2

Based on a combination of a great user interface and the system’s ability to interface with other Merritt solutions easily, processes and reports that once took a week or more to complete are now executed in five minutes or less.

Impact #3

Even though the company is facing competitive challenges from much larger industry players, Merritt is maintaining both profitability and market leadership.

Benefit #1	Warehouse slotting process reduced time by 90%.
Benefit #2	Processes and reports that once took a week or more to complete are now executed in five minutes or less.
Benefit #3	Automation of serial numbers reduced production time from hours to minutes.

Benefit #1

Warehouse slotting process reduced time by 90%.

Benefit #2

Processes and reports that once took a week or more to complete are now executed in five minutes or less.

Benefit #3

Automation of serial numbers reduced production time from hours to minutes.

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Overview

Merritt Reaches Digital Inflection Point with SYSPRO

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit