SP Stainless cointinues to grow with a complete ERP system
SP Stainless realized their numerous legacy programs had become a barrier to continuous organic growth, that slowed down their workflow and disrupted production efficiency. To revamp their operational efficiency they realized the need to digitalize their operations and optimize their processes and workflows. The journey to find a complete ERP system to manage their operations was critical to their future success and future growth ambitions.
SP Stainless Oy is a contract manufacturing company based in Finland and founded in 1989, providing piping, pipe fittings, and equipment to meet industry needs. Since being founded, SP Stainless has steadily grown organically, as well as through mergers and company reorganizations. Today, SP Stainless has two modern production facilities, one located in Siilinjärvi, Toivala and another in Savonlinna employing a total of 50 metalwork professionals.
We decided to visit SP Stainless's production plant in Siilinjärvi, Toivala, to see how the team uses and benefits from the Monitor G5 system when managing their daily work.
Arto Koljonen, CEO of SP Stainless Oy, says that due to their growth ambitions, it was time to find a new ERP system that would enable them to manage their business growth profitably.
"The company's growth has been stable, no big leaps, but our turnover is now around EUR 7 million, and to manage this growth we arrived at the need for a new system, which supports our sales, and above all, helps manage our production."
Over the years, SP Stainless had amassed several legacy systems through mergers and acquisitions. Arto Koljonen says their intention was to get rid of these, and find one complete ERP system that would support their growth. The new ERP system would take their manufacturing operations to the next level.
“The goal was to find a system which includes as many functions as possible, that is, to weed out unnecessary programs. The objective was also to improve the sales process and manage purchases in a timely manner, improving production control and improving traceability.”
Hannele Ranta, Development Engineer, says Monitor G5 was chosen as their new ERP system due to its industry-specific core functions and because it is a cost-effective and complete solution that has processes aligned to support their manufacturing operations.
“Monitor ERP was selected for us purely because of its clear processes. In Monitor G5, carrying out the customer process was reasonably simple, and it was the most sensible complete system. So we didn't have to start to make any customizations to the core. We tried to take it with its basic operations. This is the best solution for us, because it’s also a cost-effective solution for the acquisition of a new ERP system.”
SP Stainless has invested significantly in the development of its business in order to meet its customers’ requirements. Arto Koljonen sees that, in order to be regarded as a quality manufacturer in Finland, and internationally, they must constantly invest in the development and quality of their operations. One important development phase relating to the Monitor G5 ERP system was implementing a new advanced traceability system to manage the quality of production on all levels.
With the introduction of the traceability system in the company, SP Stainless has succeeded in improving its internal efficiency, inventory management, and generating less waste. Employees now know easily where to find the products and materials at the production sites. Monitor G5 has made it easier for production workers to have a good workflow, enabling them to find the right materials, at the right time, for handling and processing, and also delivering products to customers as promised. Arto Koljonen explains that after some initial issues, Monitor G5's advanced traceability system has become the most appreciated feature.
“In the beginning there was resistance, as it took time to to mark this. But after a while, when we’ve now been working with this, we’ve concluded that it is one of the best features Monitor G5 has brought us.”
Production is now under control and at a reasonable level, and now the system shows us where we are heading with our work.
Hannele Ranta, Development Engineer, explains that because information is now up-to-date in the system, production challenges are much easier and faster to resolve than before.
“This helps us to find out if there are any challenges in production, so we can locate the right worker, and know to ask the right person, so time is not wasted searching and clarifying. This is definitely one of the biggest things. Knowledge is where it is supposed to be.”
Arto Koljonen says that the cooperation with Monitor has been seamless, and that the ERP project stayed on schedule, and costs remained below budget. Hannele Ranta, SP Stainless's development engineer, shares Koljonen's view, noting that cooperation with Monitor has been fruitful throughout the whole ERP project and beyond.
“Our project started in 2020, and in 2021 we started to begin implementing the ERP system. A long investigation phase was carried out, where Monitor’s salesman was supportive and active from the beginning, and was able to answer most of our questions and find out what was important to us. The same Monitor consultant also continued, and used a good model when the implementation began. It was easy to cooperate, and it’s still easy to work and communicate if there are any challenges.”
Hannele Ranta, Development Engineer at SP Stainless, recommends the Monitor G5 system to all manufacturing companies:
“The Monitor G5 system can be recommended strongly to all manufacturing companies where there is production and warehouse, because this is a complete system which also has financial module, and the basic functions can be found there directly. I don't really know to whom I wouldn’t recommend the system – at least it's worth a look – and if you end up choosing it, it definitely has potential and is a cost-effective solution.”
The CEO of SP Stainless Oy, Arto Koljonen, also recommends Monitor G5 to all companies in the manufacturing industry. Koljonen says that the Monitor G5 system has also significantly speeded up his own work. Koljonen explains that with the ERP system, they have succeeded in streamlining their operations and thereby achieved their business goals.
“The sales process has been streamlined and, above all, purchases and warehouse management are in a good place. Production is now under control and at a reasonable level, and now the system shows us where we are heading with our work,” he says.
Monitor G5’s out-of-the-box manufacturing industry software proved to be best solution, which enabled SP Stainless to break free from their large stack of legacy issues and manage their growing business. Monitor G5’s manufacturing industry-specific system was SP Stainless’ ultimate choice. This new ERP system allowed SP Stainless to implement a new traceability system to manage quality and material flows, while transparency of the system helped to improve internal workflows, breaking silos and aligning business processes into one complete ERP system. This enables SP Stainless to manage and monitor their production levels, keep track of purchases, stock levels and material flows to fully support customers’ growing demand for high quality products.
Are you looking into growing and managing your manufacturing business profitably? Get in touch with us and learn more about how you can benefit from our manufacturing expertise, and use Monitor G5 to manage your operations.