Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Process Improvement Need Creates ERP System Improvements and Sizable Cost Savings

About

Advance Products & Systems, LLC, (APS) founded in 1978, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of corrosion prevention and protection products in the water & wastewater, oil & gas, industrial & mechanical, and chemical pipeline industries. APS products are manufactured for these industries to prevent and protect against unwanted corrosion. APS also offers quality safety products manufactured to meet customers’ needs to protect personnel, equipment, and the environment. APS has experienced steady growth over the years and presently has 65,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and currently employs over 130 full-time employees. A complete inside sales staff and office support system are here to satisfy representatives and distributors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia and several other regions. The corporation’s end users include municipalities, public utilities, oil and gas companies, and other industrial and commercial firms.

The Challenge

Advance Products & Systems was familiar with team at LCTCS MEP of LA, part of the MEP National Network™, after previously working with the center for an energy assessment, a COVID-19 assessment, sales training and more. When Advance Products & Systems needed assistance with process improvement, the company reached out to LCTCS MEP of LA for help again. 

We are continuing to explore further opportunities for advancements by way of automation and through the vast network of LCTCS MEP of LA. Their broad reach across the nation is proving to be very beneficial!

— Kidd Culotta, Manager

MEP's Role

During the initial meeting, APS also took a supply chain assessment. The assessment identified concerns such as limited suppliers for particular products/materials, long lead times and some products only being available to them overseas. This led to a conversation with LCTCS MEP of LA’s third-party provider supply chain experts to resolve issues with their ERP system. 

Following two executive coaching meetings with APS management and VersoriumIQ, resources were located to assist APS with coaching/training to better utilize their current ERP system resulting in cost avoidance of several hundred thousand dollars. Without this help, APS would have possibly incurred the costs of several hundred thousand dollars unnecessarily. This discovery has also led to 5S training and lean kaizen implementation for the company, as well as lean manufacturing training to continue to improve their growing business. The 3PP provided additional industry users with the same software which were able to provide solutions to improve APS’s ERP efficiency. 

Created October 19, 2024