Custom corrugated packaging manufacturer Value Added Packaging from Ohio moved from a legacy ERP system to a modern cloud-based software and grew 40% in 10 months.
Custom Corrugated Box Manufacturer Grows by 40% in 10 Months
Case Study from | MRPeasy
Manufacturing fully assembled complex packaging solutions
Value Added Packaging is a custom corrugated box manufacturer from Englewood, Ohio. Unlike typical brown boxes commonly seen in e-commerce, their focus is on creating fully assembled packaging solutions, particularly for the automotive and industrial machinery sectors.
Founded in 1997 by Jarod and Mari Wenrick, the company started with standard cardboard box manufacturing but has since then evolved to pre-assembled solutions and, today, employs 58 people.
Moving on from a niche software
The company had been using a corrugated-specific software since 2005. However, this system failed to meet the growing needs of the business, particularly in providing the necessary cost and inventory insights.
"Imaginera was our backbone for many years, but as we grew, its limitations in scalability and visibility became apparent," says Tyler Hoosier, General Leader at Value Added Packaging.
The decision was made to explore other software options. After first reviewing various industry-specific solutions, they turned to more general manufacturing systems.
"The pricing of industry-specific software made us reconsider our options and look for a solution outside of the corrugated sector," Hoosier noted.
After an extensive comparison of features and benefits, MRPeasy emerged as the preferred solution, promising both an affordable pricing model and the capabilities necessary to address the company’s operational challenges.
Visibility and traceability were a top priority
Hoosier emphasizes the user-friendliness of MRPeasy, "I realized very quickly after starting the trial that the system was exceptionally intuitive. I was able to teach myself by using the resources like tutorial videos and the user manual."
Another deciding factor was the visibility and traceability the system provided. In their legacy system, it was very easy for an employee to accidentally create or delete inventory, making records inaccurate. According to Hoosier, MRPeasy also offered better manufacturing tracking capabilities and more customizability than the other options they considered.
“Being able to customize tags, barcodes, and labels is something we now take advantage of extensively,” he says.
New data enables better business decisions
Apart from traceability and cost analysis, Value Added Packaging has gained visibility across their operation after implementing MRPeasy, enabling managers and owners to make better business decisions.
“We can now look at the data and see if we can cut some costs, adjust selling prices, or manufacture something more efficiently to make the outcomes better,” Hoosier says.
While Hoosier describes the company’s processes before implementing MRPeasy as “opaque”, now all changes within the software are recorded and visible. “Everyone is able to see what’s happening now,” he says.
The company also benefits from the fact that the new system is cloud-based, which makes it accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. This is especially advantageous when administrative team members are working out-of-office or when designers or salespeople visit customers’ facilities and need to pull something up.
Company on a growth streak
Today, Value Added Packaging uses MRPeasy to manage every aspect of their operation, from sales and purchases to inventory management and production planning. Additionally, with the native QuickBooks integration, the company’s financials are automatically transferred from MRPeasy to their accounting system. Thanks to the new systems order tracking functionality, the team can keep an eye on the progress and possible delays of specific customer orders, purchase orders, and manufacturing orders.
“Every piece of information you would otherwise spend an hour searching for is now front and center,” Hoosier maintains.
Although MRP and ERP systems have a reputation of being complicated, expensive, and taking a long time to implement, Hoosier urges small manufacturers to consider one.
“We took a look at some larger systems as well and I definitely understand why the MRP or ERP industry can leave a bad taste in your mouth,” he says. “But MRPeasy really is the opposite of that.”
The company is on a growth streak and according to Hoosier, MRPeasy has definitely helped them achieve this.
“When we went live with the system in July 2023, we had around 40 team members and in just 10 months, we have grown to 58,” he says. “I think a lot of that can be attributed to not just our team but to MRPeasy enabling us to make our processes more efficient.”
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of ManufacturingTomorrow
MRPeasy
MRPeasy is a seriously powerful and easy to use ERP software for small manufacturers that gives you everything you need to manage your manufacturing and distribution processes. Integrating sales, procurement, inventory, production, finances, and your team, it provides you with an accurate real-time overview of your operations. MRPeasy is trusted by 1800+ small manufacturers worldwide, 700+ of which are based in the US and Canada. Our users report a 54% average improvement in the overall performance of their business and a 42% increase in on-time deliveries. Try for free, no credit card needed.
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