From $1.4M in Annual Losses to Under $10K
A manufacturer running a 25-year-old legacy system was bleeding $350,000 every quarter in inventory variance alone. Month-end close took weeks. We modernized everything.
The Situation
25 Years of Technical Debt
A mid-sized manufacturing company with annual revenue between $80 and $100 million had been operating on a legacy ERP system for 25 to 30 years. The outdated system was no longer supported or upgradeable, presenting numerous challenges: quality issues, operational inefficiencies, and increasingly difficult day-to-day operations.
Inconsistent reporting and data output left the company without a reliable single version of the truth. Workflows and finished goods inventories were constantly out of balance, with finished goods inventory discrepancies reaching approximately $350,000 each quarter, totaling around $1.4 million per year.
The company recognized a pressing need to modernize, improve data consistency, and establish effective workflows that would bring order to their operations. This project involved guiding them through an ERP implementation from beginning to end.
What Was Breaking
Three Systemic Failures
Obsolete Legacy System
The ERP system was outdated, obsolete, and no longer supported, with no upgrade path available. This limited scalability and caused frequent disruptions in operational quality and efficiency.
Data Inconsistencies and Unreliable Reporting
Without consistent reporting and reliable analytics, the management team lacked a single, dependable source of data. Strategic decisions were being made on contradictory information.
Inventory Variance of $1.4 Million Per Year
Inefficient workflows and frequent inventory issues affected their ability to fulfill orders accurately. As a build-to-order company, finished goods inventory variances totaled around $1.4 million per year.
What We Did
End-to-End Transformation
Business Analytics System Implementation
We designed and implemented a robust business analytics system that provided real-time, accurate data across departments. This empowered the company to track key metrics reliably and enabled a single, consistent source of truth for decision-making.
Process Redesign for Inventory Management
We reworked their entire inventory management process. By refining workflows and integrating effective inventory controls, we reduced the annual inventory variance from $1.4 million to less than $10,000.
Streamlined Financial Close
We redesigned their financial processes, reducing the time required for month-end and year-end accounting closings from several weeks to a few days, and in some cases, mere hours.
Expectation Management and Governance
Throughout the project, we managed expectations and ensured the team understood the steps from ideation to successful implementation. This alignment kept the project on track and on budget.
The Outcome
On time. On budget. Fully modernized.
Variance Reduction
Financial Close
Project Delivery
The company fully transitioned to a modern, efficient system. They achieved consistent, reliable data output, gained trust in their analytics, and improved workflow efficiencies across all departments. This transformation positioned them for future growth and adaptability.
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