Managing the manufacturing floor at a growing industrial organization is no easy task, but Racquel Gregory accepted the challenge when she started as Spectrum Color’s operations manager. Founded in the 1990s, Spectrum Color makes gel coats for boats, airplanes and other vehicles. It started in a garage in Washington and now runs operations from two warehouse facilities in St. Augustine, Florida.
When Gregory came aboard in 2018, the 14-employee company was operating on a variety of systems, including Salesforce and QuickBooks. Piecing financial and accounting information together across these systems, plus multiple spreadsheets and emails, was time-consuming. It also eroded efficiency and productivity for the company, which was just three months away from its busiest season when it decided to implement NetSuite.
“The train had gone down the tracks without a conductor for a while,” said Gregory. “We needed a new business system that could give us all of the options we needed in one place and that would be quick and easy to learn.”
4 Key Efficiency Gains With ERP
Spectrum Color worked with NetSuite Alliance Partner Paapri(opens in new tab) to implement NetSuite SuiteSuccess for Manufacturing(opens in new tab) and NetSuite Demand Planning(opens in new tab) by its deadline, and the team started realizing the benefits of this decision quickly. Four ways that NetSuite helps the company save time and improve operational efficiency with less effort:
1. Provides a reliable system with accurate data.
For Spectrum Color, communications have improved across the enterprise, employees no longer work in fear of systems crashing and inventory levels are accurate and dependable. The business has grown revenues by 10-15% in certain product categories and sailed through its busiest season yet without scrambling to hire additional employees to help out.
“Before Netsuite, we were always in the weeds,” said Gregory. “After our implementation with Paapri, we didn’t even notice the uptick in production.”
2. Automates the order management process.
When an order is received, NetSuite automatically dispatches it to the fulfillment center. Once the order is complete, the system determines the most efficient shipping route and combines multiple orders heading to the same location to minimize shipping costs.
3. Reduces customer service phone time.
Previously, Spectrum Color needed a four-person customer service team to answer phones. Gregory would provide additional phone support as needed. By bringing all of its operations onto NetSuite, which automatically emails order updates to customers, the company has both reduced phone communications and simplified its customer service function. The number of customer service agents has been reduced to two, and Gregory no longer acts as an extra phone screener.
4. Allows the company to explore new market opportunities.
By requiring fewer customer service agents, Spectrum Color was able to create an open role that entails starting a commission-based rep network in the Southeast.
“That’s a project our company’s owner has been trying to launch for the past 15 years and that we’ve never been able to get started on,” said Gregory.
Spectrum Color will soon begin using NetSuite Planning and Budgeting(opens in new tab), which will create a real-time data flow between its manufacturing and financial planning processes. Gregory would also like to upgrade the company’s website and integrate its Shopify storefront directly into NetSuite.
“This will take the headaches out of managing our web store,” said Gregory. “We’re just now diving into that project with Paapri, and it already looks like it’s going to be just as great of an experience as our ERP implementation was.”
Is QuickBooks holding YOUR business back? Find out in our guide to The Risks of Trusting QuickBooks(opens in new tab).