“Over the past 10 years Total ETO has helped our company succeed both locally and internationally.”
Ron Gill, Systems Specialist, EPIQ (Advanced Dynamics)
Located in St. Bruno, Quebec, EPIQ, formerly known as Advanced Dynamics is a management owned company focused on the engineering, design and manufacturing of custom heavy duty material handling systems. Established in 1965 Advanced Dynamics has grown into an international player in the design and build of systems for the pulp and paper industry, and primary metals industry. The company also has an office in France and a manufacturing plant in India.
Size of Company
140 employees
Industry
Pulp and paper, primary metals
Location
St. Bruno, Quebec, Canada
CAD
SOLIDWORKS
Inventor
EPLAN
Accounting
Sage 300
Business Challenge
Advanced Dynamics lacked communication between all departments which led to data duplication and wasted time.
Solution
Created for the custom design manufacturer, Total ETO provides Advanced Dynamics with an integrated business, from prospecting through to shipping.
Dynamic Benefits and Results
Like many Engineer To Order companies, Advanced Dynamics faced challenges related to communication between departments, duplication of data entry, and an inefficient Bill of Materials (BOM) process.
Advanced Dynamics struggled to develop an effective communication strategy for departments such as engineering, purchasing, and receiving, who often had no way of knowing which version of data was the right one. Purchasing mishaps were often made due to inaccurate information.
With departments often entering the same data into different systems, mistakes were extremely difficult to catch. This was also an ineffective use of employee resources, wasting company time and money.
It was extremely important to streamline the BOM process. Advanced Dynamics needed to provide a feedback loop for when materials were required, purchased, and delivered, and enable changes to be made to the BOM at any point in the project.
Advanced Dynamics looked at several systems, but selected Total ETO based on the features it offered, as well as the recommendation of other small to mid-sized Engineer To Order manufacturers.
A complete system, Total ETO integrates Advanced Dynamics’ business from the sales proposal phase to shipping. Since implementing Total ETO, Advanced Dynamics has become more competitive locally and internationally, growing into a key player in the pulp and paper, and primary metals industries.
Total ETO’s integrated hold and release system provides seamless integration between engineering and purchasing, allowing BOMs to be created quickly, and data to move back and forth seamlessly between departments. Change orders are easily handled and purchasing is able to purchase on time and in bulk, obtaining best prices.
Total ETO has true 3D CAD integration capabilities. With a dynamic BOM process, Total ETO allows Advanced Dynamics the flexibility to not only create but also change a project’s BOM prior to, during, and even after its release to purchasing and manufacturing.
Total ETO and Advanced Dynamics worked together to create an Autodesk Inventor Add In, and a subsequent move to SOLIDWORKS further streamlined their engineering process. BOMs can now be linked to specific projects and adjusted as designs change.
Configured to the specific needs of their Engineer To Order organization, Total ETO was implemented at their Canadian and Indian facilities, and has helped them become an important player in the international market.
When Advanced Dynamics was looking for a software system, they were pleasantly surprised at how Total ETO simulated their business procedures. Developed with the support of Engineer To Order manufacturers, the ERP and MRP system mirrors the workflow and processes unique to custom design manufacturers like Advanced Dynamics.
Advanced Dynamics has seen significant improvement in communication among their departments, especially engineering and purchasing. All pertinent data is visible in Total ETO, and with the manufacturing plant also using the system, everyone has a complete picture of materials and projects. This in turn has saved the company time and money.
Data duplication is now a thing of the past. At Advanced Dynamics employees save time by only entering data into one system. No longer are multiple spreadsheets and emails leading to data errors. Employees can track jobs and pull pricing information with 100% accuracy.
