CASE STUDY
Embedded Development Team from Objective Systems Optimizes Legacy 4D Manufacturing Database to Meet Growing Inventory Expansion Needs
BACKGROUND
At the center of the business for a commercial manufacturer of high-quality metal is their inventory manufacturing system, or IMS. The 4D database was created in the late 90’s to manage purchase orders, track orders, forecast raw materials, calculate manufacturing needs, track manufacturing and inventory, route delivery trucks, handle billing, and more.
In short, IMS is an integral part of this company’s business.
“We didn’t want to take the chance of being rejected for new business because we weren’t employing the latest business tools and technology. Plus, with business steadily increasing, we knew our forecasted savings in time and productivity from the new capabilities would pay off quickly.”
CHALLENGES
The company has quadrupled in size since 2005, and they now have four locations.
At the time, the company couldn’t email through IMS. For a company that sends out 600-700 invoices daily, this could be a serious time-saver. The company also wanted to use electronic data interchange (EDI) to conduct their business functions. With EDI, a business electronically communicates information traditionally communicated on paper, such as purchase orders and invoices. EDI is considered a manufacturing business standard, to the point that some companies won’t even work with businesses that don’t use EDI.
SOLUTIONS
The company needed expert 4D database developers that didn’t need a lot of ramp-up time and could hit the ground running. So they brought in Objective Systems.
Objective Systems assigned a team of consultants with decades of 4D database design, development, integration, and support experience.
RESULTS
With the new upgrades nearly completed, the company is well on their way to saving multiple days of operational time each month. Processes that once took hours have been reduced to a few clicks, enhancing productivity across the business operations, and the modernized, integrated system means better communication with vendors and customers.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS
IMS Applications
- Manage purchase orders
- Track orders
- Forecast raw materials
- Calculate manufacturing needs
- Track manufacturing and inventory
- Route delivery trucks
- Bill customers
“I only had to brief the Objective Systems team for a bit on the project, and they took off converting code. All the data we need is right at our fingertips, and our database works in a way that makes sense for our business. These custom database programmers really listen to what we need, and then they just make it happen!”
