Intuitive ERP Resolves Scheduling Issues and Increases Bottom Line for American Tubing

2018 – Situated in Springdale, USA, American Tubing Inc. (ATI) is a leading producer of copper components and brazed copper assemblies for use in the air conditioning and refrigeration industries. With revenues exceeding $10 million, ATI is a make-to-order shop with more than 150 employees, producing parts to individual customer drawings and specifications country-wide.

The Challenge

Prior to implementing Intuitive ERP, ATI faced a problem familiar to many manufacturers – that of scheduling. Customers were demanding shorter lead times, and ATI’s existing ERP system was not capable of providing the information necessary to respond quickly enough. As a result, ATI was losing business.

At the same time, ATI wanted to move their production methods away from manual operation toward automation, and they required a system that could schedule efficiently and had machine-capacity capability. It was important for ATI to be able to view their shop floor load at any point in time, allowing them to identify any potential problems, and apply corrective action before slowdowns occurred.

The Solution

ATI management contemplated rewriting their existing system inhouse while they searched for other solutions. Then they learned about Aptean Intuitive ERP – a software system that offered a 100% Microsoft-compatible solution. After a visit to Aptean, ATI determined that the functionality of Intuitive ERP would be a perfect fit for their business, and purchased the Intuitive ERP base system with the Location/Lot Tracking and Shop Floor Control (SFC) options for 25 concurrent users.

“Compared with other systems, Intuitive ERP is very easy to learn and use,” said Chuck Lewis, President of ATI. “Intuitive follows rules consistent with manufacturing, which allow us to have consistency. It is also a very logical system, and flows in the way a person would imagine.”

Results

ATI believed that it was important for their own growth to be involved with the technology from the beginning, and that investment paid off for ATI. “To date, there has not been an upgrade made available that we have not considered taking the time to install as soon as we could,” said Lewis. “New versions are always faster and more feature-rich.”

Within a year of implementing Intuitive ERP, ATI experienced a dramatic drop in overtime, and Intuitive ERP provided ATI with the ability to view their shop floor load at any given point in time, and allowed them to schedule hours by department, rather than the entire shop.

“Intuitive ERP is better than any other system we have used,” Lewis continued. “Based on the progress we have made during the past several years, I see us using the software for a long time to come. Aptean is committed to their customers. They listen to our needs and address issues as they arise.”

ATI’S Reaction

“Intuitive ERP has been a perfect fit. It is a dynamic system that can expand as our company grows. We have worked heavily with the software, using it as a base to develop additional solutions for our specific needs. We have found it to be a thorough system that considers the various ways of going about business. It is also a very flexible system, allowing us to customise without compromising data,” said Lewis.