The accurate mining of centralized data In 2010, the business integrated the Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP) system companywide. Previously, RiverSide's two manufacturing facilities operated as one virtual plant, lacking the technology to track the movement and status of materials and services delivered from both sites, which often work in unison to complete job orders.
“Contract manufacturing is extremely competitive in the electronics marketplace,” said Michaelynn Lambert, information systems manager for RiverSide Electronics. “Profit margins are very tight. It's essential to run lean and efficient, squeezing every nickel from each business step.”
Increased production efficiencies
The Epicor solution is helping RiverSide prepare detailed work calendars unique to each operation phase. That, in addition to manufacturing parameters, has helped improve production cycles by 11 days at one facility and 4-5 days at the other. This involved the build-in of preventative maintenance and timeouts as well as the ability to identify production deficiencies, eliminate bottlenecks, and enhance capacity so more jobs could be
produced without adding machinery or equipment.
Through the Epicor system, the company also instantaneously communicates with customers, electronically sending purchase orders, shipping information, and other timely information with a push of the button. Inter-department e-mail notifications can even be sent throughout the organization and down to the production floor with the same ease.
“The Epicor ERP [Kinetic] system helped us better manage the purchase and inventory of thousands of parts, while increasing the efficiencies of hundreds of assemblies by providing updated information the moment it happens,” explained Corey Beech, general manager, RiverSide Electronics. “The other system was only accurate a few minutes of the day. The Epicor system recalculates the status of virtually any procedure at any given moment.”
Evaluating trends that foster market and customer growth
Always on the lookout for both internal and external opportunities to grow the company, Jon Schmitz, customer
systems and operations manager for RiverSide Electronics, also believes the Epicor ERP (now known as Kinetic) system has been invaluable for not only analyzing customer purchasing histories, but providing the insights needed to target new markets and lower costs. According to Schmitz, “We've increased revenues by optimizing the use of parts and materials across the board. This includes the reduction of waste in a just-in-time environment that better manages inventory. Plus, the interface has been customized to suit the needs of various operational areas with all the data centralized in one location for easy access by all of our staff.”
“The Epicor ERP [Kinetic] system has enabled us to enhance production, equipment, and labor efficiencies at each manufacturing phase,” added Pete Lieske, RiverSide Electronics' production operations manager. “New standards have produced lean operational improvements. We can take on more customers knowing what jobs take in real-time and the flow rates of a single assembly. Traceability exists right down to the status of every part and component. This ability to configure and manipulate data any way we want has saved us days of work and greatly improved our capacity to complete more jobs at higher rates with even greater quality control.”