“Within weeks of implementation, we were seeing a 31% improvement in our value added work.”
Suren Moodley, Chief Operating Officer, Foodmach
Foodmach is a privately owned Australian company with over 100 employees located in Echuca, Victoria with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
Since 1972, Foodmach has been designing and manufacturing fully integrated equipment and packaging lines for the food, beverage, and industrial manufacturing industries.
Size of Company
100+ employees
Industry
Food, beverage, and industrial manufacturing industries
Location
Echuca, Victoria, Australia
CAD
Inventor, AutoCAD Electrical
Accounting
Tencia
Business Challenge
Foodmach needed a solution focused solely on the Engineer To Order industry to address issues such as tribal knowledge and visibility across the organization.
Solution
After considerable research, Total ETO was selected. Focused on flexibility, responsiveness, and a willingness to adapt to their customers’ changing needs, the company had the mindset and culture of a true ETO business.
Dynamic Benefits & Results
Foodmach faced the typical Engineer To Order business challenges, and brought in a consultant to review the organization, identify key issues, and recommend a solution.
Tribal knowledge was an issue and valuable information was only recorded in the minds of tenured staff. With no way to properly capture and share data, it was time consuming trying to track down necessary information. This approach was not scalable and when the company got busy the key people would get burned out.
There was no visibility across the organization. Foodmach is a one stop shop, managing large projects, and manufacturing everything in-house. Unfortunately, they had no clear understanding of where parts were, at what stage they were at, or whether POs had been issued or received. They needed an ERP system to help them organize, track, and report on their operations.
Foodmach knew the solution they chose would have to lend itself to the very unique needs of the Engineer To Order industry. They had purchased a large, standard ERP system five years prior, but realized customizing it to their needs would cost too much, in both money and resources. While it claimed to be an ETO solution, it couldn’t deliver precisely what they needed, so they ended up shelving it. Based on this experience, they knew they were looking for a solution focused solely on the Engineer To Order industry.
Finally, as a mid-sized company, budget was also a consideration for Foodmach.
After conducting a considerable amount of research, and creating a matrix of strengths, weaknesses, and costs of 10 solutions on the market, Total ETO was shortlisted. Foodmach then did a deep dive into the company, which included reading online resources and speaking with several existing customers.
In depth conversations with Total ETO helped them determine that the solution, developed by engineers in the ETO industry, was the right one for them. Focused on flexibility, responsiveness, and a willingness to adapt to their customers’ changing needs, the company had the mindset and culture of a true ETO business.
“Working with Total ETO was like dealing with ourselves. They always put us, the customer, first, and they just had the same ETO mindset we have, and look for in our business partnerships.” Suren Moodley
Because Total ETO is a true ETO company, support has been just what Foodmach needs. “They understand that you hand your customers a new tool and you have to show them how to use it, and hold their hand until they’re ready to take ownership.” states Suren Moodley, Chief Operating Officer of Foodmach. The relationship doesn’t end there – Total ETO will continue to be an invaluable resource as Foodmach grows and their needs evolve.
Within weeks of implementation, an operational study indicated a 31% increase in productive time spent in Fabrication & Assembly, and this number is expected to increase. Total ETO’s integration with Foodmach’s new 3D CAD and accounting systems means designs, parts, BOMs, and associated documents are all now readily available to staff. Time is no longer wasted tracking down this valuable information.
“Within weeks of implementation, we were seeing a 31% improvement in our value added work.” Suren Moodley
The flexibility of Total ETO meant that Foodmach could implement in the way best suited to them. They’re now able to route assemblies from one into another, up to the final machine. They can capture details such as parent assembly, project details, and everything on the Parts Traveler.
Total ETO has given Foodmach staff total visibility across their shops. All parts are labelled and indicate the raw materials, what assemblies and machines that part will be used in, and where it will be going next.
Foodmach now have the ability to go from design release to procurement very efficiently. They release a project, the BOM pulls through from the design software into Total ETO, and it can go straight into purchasing within minutes.
The ability to prioritize projects has been incredibly valuable. If a project becomes more urgent than another, they can adjust easily by moving priorities around, which updates all other workstations immediately. Each person can prioritize their list for the day by project. That sorting ability is very powerful in Total ETO and frequently used.
Reporting has been vital to Foodmach’s success. Reports can be run at any time, on any level of information required. During a recent conversation with the CEO about the status of one of their large $3M projects, the COO was able to quickly run a summary costing report to provide a real-time answer. That level of immediate insight is invaluable.
Finding companies and solutions that address the unique challenges of Engineer To Order manufacturers is challenging. Although halfway around the world, Total ETO has done just that for Foodmach, providing the highest level of industry knowledge, implementation expertise, and support.
“The support from Total ETO has been exceptional” states Suren Moodley.
