Sometimes referred to as the “SOLIDWORKS MRP “, Total ETO improves efficiency, accuracy, and profitability for Custom Machine Builders.
Is there an ERP that integrates with SOLIDWORKS?
It’s a question many engineers have wondered, especially those who specialize in custom work. The answer is “YES”!
Total ETO is an affordable ERP/MRP that integrates with SOLIDWORKS and is easily tailored for Integrators, Panel Shops, and OEMs.
Formerly known as “Questica ETO”, our enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution has been helping Custom Manufacturers for over 20 years. Finding an ERP/MRP system that works with SOLIDWORKS and can be customized to fit your organization will likely save your organization time and money.
Creating Less Work for Engineers
Engineers, in particular, LOVE how well this ERP integrates with SOLIDWORKS and other popular CAD systems. Total ETO makes your bill of materials dynamic, so they’re always current and accurate. Dynamic BOMs means less paper work and double-entry for engineering. Your team can start designing a system, releasing parts to procurement in stages, including long-lead items. If your subsequent design changes your earlier work, that’s not a problem; we help manage that too. Reducing downtime and clerical work like this is one of the best ways a Custom Machine Builder or Integrator can increase profits…
As Stan McLean, former Engineering Manager at Macrodyne Technologies said;
“Total ETO allowed the existing staff to handle an increase in business that would not have been possible with the previous methods of production release and purchasing.”
With such a dynamic approach, your CAD integration becomes even more important. That’s why you need more than an ERP built for the manufacturing industry, you need a true ETO solution.
Total ETO’s team of experienced engineers and Custom Machine Builders works with you during implementation and training. We understand the unique nature of your Engineer To Order (ETO) business. That’s why we’re committed to providing you with first-class infrastructure; your business will be better able to handle the growth and changes ahead.
Increase Sales and Profitability with your Current Staff
Handling Specialty, an Ontario-based manufacturer that uses SOLIDWORKS, demonstrates the improvements ETO organizations experience when working with the right ERP. Within the first five years of using Total ETO, they doubled their sales. Handling Specialty also reduced their design and shop hours by 10.3%. This led to a six-fold increase in profits. This case study focuses on their gains. First, however, it describes some of the problems they faced. As a Custom Machine Builder, you’ll probably be able to relate to some, such as:
- Customers often request changes to the order during the design process, sometimes even after. This impacts design time and purchasing efforts.
- Engineering often needs to pre-release components to procurement in order to meet deliveries. This requires special effort to manage the bill of materials interaction with purchasing.
- The team often identifies areas where the design needs to be changed. This requires engineering to modify the drawings and the BOM. Furthermore, procurement then needs to change material orders.
If you relate to these struggles but love using SOLIDWORKS, you’ll be happy to hear that Total ETO integrates smoothly with your CAD. This option saves your employees time and frustrations, Additionally, as you can see in the Handling Specialty case study, it also improves morale.
About SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS, published by Dassault Systems, is known for its solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD). The platform is used by over 230,000 manufacturers around the world. The software’s popularity and impressive history in our industry are why Total ETO became an official certified SOLIDWORKS ERP partner.
Total ETO is known as a “SOLIDWORKS ERP” for a reason! Our ERP solution for Engineer To Order companies is unique in how well it integrates with SOLIDWORKS. Total ETO allows a Custom Machine Builder the opportunity to continue using their CAD, without sacrificing any of the benefits of working with a well-customized ERP.
Total ETO Features that SOLIDWORKS Users LOVE
- Efficient Engineering: True CAD and SOLIDWORKS integrations allow you to bring your BOMs in, without leaving CAD and with no double entry.
- Accurate Data: Being able to easily copy parts from a past project’s BOM to a new BOM not only saves time, but reduces the risk for errors. It also means that sales reps can provide more precise quotes.
- Improved Visibility: Track changes to the BOM at any stage of the project, ensuring information is shared across departments. Have access to hundreds of predesigned reports or customize your own.
- Increased Savings: Designers can cost out the BOM before purchases are made and release parts to procurement in stages, such as long lead components. This allows procurement to find quality parts for a better price. It’s also easier to use parts already in the shop, since Total ETO makes it simple to search the system for previously used parts and their complete history.
- Reduced Clerical Work: No need to export your SOLIDWORKS BOM to Excel. You can, if it’s your preference. However, many Total ETO users LOVE that our ERP reduces redundant steps and clerical work like this.
- Scalability: With complete visibility of the shop floor and business processes, you can better find and solve problems, as well as identify opportunities for growth.
- Affordability: Total ETO is priced suitably for many small-medium Integrators, OEMs, and panel shops. Starting from $7,500/year for 5 seats, which also includes human-guided implementation and training.
SOLIDWORKS is Great!
Many of us at Total ETO have years of experience with SOLIDWORKS, including building custom machines. So, we understand why you love it. But as Custom Machine Builders, we can also understand how frustrating it is to not find an ERP/MRP that integrates flawlessly with SOLIDWORKS, while still catering to the dynamic nature of your organization.
Additionally, even though SOLIDWORKS is the CAD of choice for many manufacturers, we’ve learned that numerous users are unaware of the data they’ve collected in SOLIDWORKS and therefore aren’t leveraging it. Total ETO helps organize and relay important information. You can track your project workflow and see reporting metrics at all stages of a project. Such real-time information can go a long way when growing your business.
As Kevin Miller, CFO at Mission Design & Automation said;
“We’ve gone from thinking a project is going well, to knowing it’s going well”.
As a Custom Machine Builder, you can probably relate to this typical Engineer To Order flow:
By eliminating the redundant steps above, Integrators, Panel Shops, and OEMs will reduce downtime and clerical work and instead increase profits.
Benefits of Using Total ETO
Total ETO is more than just project management software for the manufacturing industry. And it goes above and beyond enterprise resource planning. We’re an official partner of SOLIDWORKS which is why we integrate so well with their platform. When you hear an engineer refer to a “SOLIDWORKS ERP”, they’re talking about Total ETO. Some benefits your team will enjoy include:
- Efficient processes: Purchasing is simple when information is interconnected with engineering, receiving, and the shop floor.
- Improved Quality: Knowing where your parts are during fabrication helps to confirm they’re inspected and by whom. It’s also easy to record and follow up on quality issues.
- Save time and money: Easily search the system for previously used parts and their complete history.
- Knowledge is Power: Keep a close eye on each project and see reporting metrics at every stage, empowering management with real-time information.
- Clever Organization: Reserve inventory by project and see remaining availability.
- No Double Entry: Easily copy parts from a past project’s bill of materials to a new BOM.
What Other Custom Machine Builders are Saying
“Total ETO has improved our job costing metrics, providing enhanced operational decision making and production efficiency”.
Ben Baker, Program Manager, Quality Machine & Automation
“Total ETO has streamlined our Purchasing process and saved us the cost of one full time purchasing agent.”
Nate Hinks, Director of Sales, Farason
“Total ETO can integrate with SOLIDWORKS and that was very important to our business”
Timm Schaetz, President, Hart Design and Manufacturing
You can see why engineers love Total ETO, but what about the rest of your organization? Check out our solutions page to see how Total ETO connects engineering with sales, procurement, manufacturing, accounting, and analytics. One solution that improves the visibility into each stage of your business. Experience Totally Better collaboration, efficiency, and accuracy and discover areas where there may be challenges and/or opportunities for improvement.
Packages start at $7,500/year for 5 users and include human-guided implementation and training.
Total ETO is a Totally Better ERP and MRP software, providing better collaboration, efficiency, and accuracy for Custom Machine Builders. Not only does our ERP integrate with SOLIDWORKS, but our software is easy to implement and use, affordable, and backed by a team of industry experts with a passion for the success of every client.
F.A.Q. About Solidworks ERP and MRP
1. How does data flow throughout Total ETO?
Total ETO has a logical graphical user interface that mimics the business flow of a typical Engineer To Order organization. Commonly accessed areas like sales, engineering and manufacturing are easily accessible from a main menu, with quick access to all reports, and separate administrative functions to fine tune your setup.
Benefits to you:
- Staff is more effective when the work flow is logical, easy to follow and mimics current procedures.
- Better user experience with natural flow of screens and data.
- Drastically reduce user training time with an intuitive interface that is easy to learn.
2. How does Total ETO manage my Bill of Materials?
Total ETO provides a separate engineering screen to manage entire Projects and individual Jobs. A Bill of Materials (BOM) can be built in a hierarchy, rather than a flat BOM, and is displayed in a flexible graphical user interface. By displaying the BOM visually, designers have greater flexibility to break down assemblies and more easily manage changes to an assembly quantity or parts within the assembly.
Benefits to you:
- Total ETO was built by engineers for engineers and understands your need for a structured BOM.
- Fewer setbacks as engineers can logically break up complex machinery into a series of nested sub-assemblies.
- Designers and engineers are more efficient as a structured BOM provides them with a quick and organized means of finding materials and managing change requirements.
3. Once I’ve released parts from my BOM, can I still make changes or is the BOM now static?
Engineer To Order companies know their BOM needs to be fluid. In Total ETO, your BOM is never locked down. Total ETO allows engineers to change and release their BOM as needed, even items they’ve previously released. This includes changes to previously released parts, assemblies and even the entire BOM. Total ETO will communicate any material changes to procurement for you.
Benefits to you:
- Total ETO suits your business processes instead of you trying to adjust your business to suit your ERP.
- Engineering maintains total control of their BOM, even if items have been procured.
- Engineers can release assemblies or individual items more quickly since Total ETO will handle over or under procured items.
- Procurement is immediately notified of items that need their attention, giving them time to resolve issues quickly, saving you money on unnecessary materials or extra shipments.
4. Does Total ETO integrate with my CAD system?
Yes, of course we do! Having an ERP that integrates with SOLIDWORKS really boosts efficiency. Since we’re partners with Dassault, Total ETO provides integrated 3D CAD linking within popular systems like SOLIDWORKS, embedding our controls in their CAD systems, allowing designers to easily push BOM information to Total ETO.
For other CAD systems, our BOM Import tool can quickly import a BOM file exported from applications such as SOLIDWORKS Electrical, E-Plan, and Solid Edge, among many others, eliminating double entry, and possible data entry mistakes.
Benefits to you:
- Designers can view and edit the BOM in ONE central location, giving complete control on the BOM’s development.
- Staff gains flexibility, power and versatility in creating, modifying and controlling the flow of information to and from Purchasing.
- By integrating your BOM with your 3D CAD, we eliminate duplicate data entry and speed up the engineering process.
5. Can I track Non-Conformances in Total ETO?
Total ETO’s Non-Conformance (NC) system allows users to raise NCs from several different areas within the system and allows users to track various causes of the issue such as defective parts, drawing or design errors, and manufacturing errors. Non-conformances are attached to Jobs and can have both labor and material costs associated to them. Coupled with powerful searches and powerful reporting, our Engineer To Order software solution provides the ability to identify the causes of non-conformances and allows users to prevent them from occurring on similar future projects.
Benefits to you:
- Engineer To Order manufacturers are constantly faced with non-conformances and need a simple system to deal with the complexity of this process.
- Knowing how to avoid certain errors in the future will affect your company’s bottom line and improve product quality.
It might sound too good to be true; finding an ERP/MRP system that integrates with SOLIDWORKS. That’s why we’d like to invite you to book a demo and experience it for yourself.
