2 Manufacturing Quality Challenges Solved with Cloud ERP

As an ISO/TS certified manufacturer, HK Metalcraft knows all too well the challenges of delivering high quality on time, every time. The company is a manufacturer of high-quality precision metal stampings, spring washers, formed products, and related assemblies for all industries worldwide.

To meet its challenges head on, Joshua Hopp, President of HK Metalcraft, decided to run his business on cloud ERP, one that his peers in the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) rely on: the Plex Manufacturing Cloud. It’s just what he needed to help the company overcome two quality problems:

Quality Standards Compliance

HK Metalcraft struggled to easily incorporate stringent quality management standards. Traditionally operators could “work around” quality issues, but that led to an abundance of work in progress (WIP) inventory. With cloud ERP though, a control panel compels operators to complete an inspection check sheet on an hourly basis, automatically producing a live statistical process control (SPC) screen. That way, operators and quality managers can monitor dimensions that may be trending out of specification. This has not only enabled HK Metalcraft to more easily meet customer dimension requirements but has reduced wasted material and time spent sorting for scrap to improve overall quality and inventory efficiency.  

Inventory Controls               

Tracking and inventory traceability has always been an inefficient manual process for HK Metalcraft, as well. Now the company has serialized inventory, making lot control much more accurate. The company also has better visibility to its WIP inventory with more accurate process routings, and can schedule its press room with much more confidence—not to mention reduced excess inventory that was eating into the bottom line.

In one instance, HK Metalcraft received a reject from a customer. After looking it up in the ERP system, the reject was identified as being from an outside process that happened in small batches. Out of twenty batches sent to the customer, four were suspect. The customer decided to sort out the rejects in-house and send the bill to HK Metalcraft. Prior to implementing cloud ERP, HK Metalcraft would have gotten all 20 batches back, and been burdened with sorting through all batches to find the rejects, and then send the order back.

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