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Technology Scouting ERP Systems
With the help of: Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity (WCMP)
About
SaveGuard (formerly Culimeta SaveGuard LLC) of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, designs and manufactures acoustic and thermal insulation products. The company provides katpak, metcap, thermolastic, knitted products, and insulation jackets. Culimeta-Saveguard serves customers worldwide.
The Challenge
Saveguard was using an unsustainable ERP system. That system was a complex cascade of custom, manually-maintained spreadsheets, and it was not meeting the business' needs for growth or for customer support or for business costing. The General Manager requested the UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC), part of the Wisconsin MEP and the MEP National Network™, assist with guiding the path through the ERP assessment process. The effort focused on Match-IT ERP system replacement in alignment with future growth and technology needs. Three levels of systems were requested from a basic system to a fully integrated solution.
Without the MOC, there are solutions that we would never have found. Odoo and Epicor, for example, were new to us. If it was up to me, we would have went with a Tier 1 system that I have used in the past, like SAP, MS AX, or IFS. The MOC found us a more cost effective solution in Epicor that has the EDI capabilities that we really need. Lucky for us, it also happens to be the same system our new corporate owners already use. So we now have internal expert resources available to help with install, issues, and that should keep us growing!
MEP's Role
Effort began with a Lean 101 for approximately 20 participants, followed by a high-level business process mapping activity. The MOC then used a technology scouting approach for the ERP aspect of the project. Technology scouting is a proven systematic problem solving methodology for open-ended projects with many unknowns. The iterative process starts with an information gathering process, ongoing research, and narrows options in collaboration with client staff. Through this process, the MOC project managers, Ron and Wyatt, were able to narrow the universe of system providers down to 3 unique ERP system solution pathways to cover the situation. The basic was a custom, pay-as-you-go development using contract developers. The mid-range was an ala carte, open-source solution. The complete solution was a product by Epicor that included EDI capabilities. Epicor was chosen and is in planning for implementation.
Created November 5, 2024