Improving Quality
In the engineer-to-order world the cost of poor quality can be very high. The cost of rework to replace an item in a complex assembly and the warranty costs resulting from equipment failure can have a serious negative impact on profit margins. The ability to track material and rework is essential. Encompix customers have made major improvements in this area.
 "We now track quality and performance data on every single part we manufacture. Each part now has its own specific bar code identification, enabling us to track quality and chart trends. This is a huge improvement over what we were able to do before implementing Encompix."
Paul Frascoia, Senior V.P.
Fab-Tech
"When I review a job, I can now see where we did well and where we need improvements in our process. We recently implemented a Quality Improvement Program and I can immediately see and track the rework involved on a particular job or as an aggregate. Encompix definitely gives me more control over my business unit."
Paul Poblocki, General Manager,
Poblocki & Son
"One of the biggest changes was tracking our paint shop. The paint cost was double or triple the estimate. We never had this visibility before Encompix. As a result we changed over to an electrostatic paint process. We cut our painting costs by 50% by virtually eliminating rework and using less material."
Fred Richardson, Controller,
Metal Systems
Faster Implementation,
Faster ROI
Encompix’s focus on the needs of ETO companies means our software provides a closer fit to your requirements. This in turn means fewer costly modifications and provides a solution that closely follows your business processes. A solution that is easier to understand and learn, which in turn leads to a faster implementation and quicker ROI.
"Being a CPA with over 30 years experience installing and fixing broken systems, I knew what to look for and quickly became confident that Encompix could do the job at Metal Systems without any major modifications. In fact, our only modifications were to produce three custom reports."
Fred Richardson, Controller,
Metal Systems.
"We implemented Encompix within four months. “The system was very easy for us to learn to use. We didn’t need much training, and we started getting results very quickly."
Bill Jurek, V.P.
Materials
Operational Improvements
One of the immediate benefits from the implementation is in the financial accounting area. The ability to close the month-end books in a timely manner, frees up accounting staff, reduces frustration, and provides management with more up-to-date information.
"Before it used to take us eight to ten days. Now we close our books in three days. We now have less people in finance and there will be fewer people in purchasing. The number of people it takes to create parts lists and BOMs will be less as we move forward."
Joe Osterday V.P. Finance,
DT Industries
"Before it used to take around four weeks to perform our month-end closing. Now we close our books in less than a week and have total confidence in our numbers."
Ron Wisniewski, Controller,
Poblocki & Son
"The accounting side has seen a tremendous improvement. Before it would take us 10 working days to close our books; now we can close our books in less than half that time. Accounts Payable work is cut in half, because the information coming in is validated through the up-front processes."
Doug Gould, V.P. Administration,
Weber Manufacturing
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Growing the Business
In any growing business it is essential to manage costs, in particular indirect costs. Encompix customers have grown their companies with very little increase in indirect labor costs due to increased productivity and operational efficiencies.
"The overall efficiency gains provided by the system have allowed Weber to increase its volume by almost 40% in 2003, without any increase in administrative staff."
Doug Gould, V.P. Administration,
Weber Manufacturing
"Through the efficiencies we have gained with the Encompix system and astute use of the information it provides, we have managed to grow our business with the addition of just 20 new employees. Back in 2000 we had 160 employees, we ended the year in 2002 with 180. From the end 1999 to 2002 revenues doubled and our profit margin increased 120%."
Fred Richardson, Controller, Metal Systems, Inc.
Competitive Advantage
A major reason why companies invest in new technology is to gain a competitive advantage. To beat your competition by delivering a quality product, faster, cheaper, while maintaining profit margins is the goal of every company. Encompix customers realize that goal.
"To be better and faster than our competition, we needed state-of-the-art efficiency and performance. Encompix’s integrated system helped us become more efficient and cost-effective. It reduced our costs by 20%, improved cycle time by 30%, and dramatically improved our access to accurate information."
Nathan Weaks, Treasurer,
Automatic Feed Company
"We definitely see the Encompix system as providing us with a competitive advantage. There is a vast amount of information to help us make informed decisions and run the business better. I believe that we are well positioned for the future."
Paul Frascoia, Senior V.P.,
Fab-Tech
Controlling Cost
Controlling cost is essential for an engineer to order manufacturer. Monitoring actual cost verses the original estimate and understanding cost-to-complete provides an early warning of project overruns. Having the information to take corrective action before it's too late can mean the difference between profit and loss.
"A lot of labor was not accounted for in the old system. Basically we had too much fluff or inaccurate data so our estimates to the sales force weren't as accurate as they should have been. So I think there are two benefits. First, it keeps us away from unprofitable business. Second, puts us in a more competitive position in the projects that we really want to win."
George Seidler, IT Director,
DT Industries
"We now have an accurate job costing system that is easy to use and understand. We know our margins for every job and can identify where we were over or under our estimate. This also helps improve the accuracy of future estimates for similar projects."
Ron Wisniewski, Controller,
Poblocki & Son
"Encompix provides us with the visibility we need to more tightly control labor costs on a project. As a result we have been able to increase our margin on jobs anywhere from 10-25%."
Fred Richardson, Controller,
Metal Systems
Supporting Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing is becoming the focus of many successful manufacturing companies. Encompix supports your Lean Manufacturing initiatives by providing information and visibility into your company’s operations, enabling you to identify problem areas, and to focus on eliminating non-value added activities.
"We reduced the non-value added activity from 48% to 19% and we also reduced the number of non-value added activities between the order to billing cycle from 252 to 37. This dramatic time-saving provided Plessi with savings of $107,000 per year."
Frédéric Lagacé, President,
Plessi
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