realtrac 10 electrifies...
TRANSCRIPT
32971 Capitol Street
Livonia, MI 48150
Phone: (734) 793-3811
Press Contact: Tim Macdonald
855.769.9453
REALTRAC 10 Electrifies Profits for North America’s Largest EDM Shop. When your job shop is running 80 electrical discharge machines, 24 hours a day with an output of over 5000 electrical discharge machining jobs a year, keeping track of every aspect of your business could seem impossible.
But for the father and sons team at Reliable EDM in Houston, Texas since 1986, they’ve not only kept track, but also managed to build North America’s largest EDM machining shop. They began searching for the best invoicing and tracking system.
John Sommer, the IT arm of Reliable, knew the company needed a new shop control system if they were going to maintain the same level of growth his father, Carl Sommer, had spearheaded for the last three decades. “For almost 30 years we’d been using a paper-based filing,” John said, “tracking and invoicing system. We knew in order to keep up with growth it was time to go paperless.”
John, a trained computer programmer before taking on the IT role at the family company, he knew the shop control system (also called ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning software) needed to be complete, robust, and also simple to implement and use. As he looked at the available shop control software options he saw a common theme - they were complicated and had steep learning curves.
The ERP system they needed would have to help them streamline their operations and keep them organized without slowing down production. It also had to pass muster of the other Sommer brothers, Steve, Vice President, Phil, VP of Operations, and the President and Founder, Carl Sommer as well.
“My Dad was a Marine during the Korean War, and his focus is always on efficiency and productivity,” said John. “If a part can be machined in a way that shaves five seconds off the process, then that’s how he wants it done. The last thing we wanted was a system that we’d have to enter a bunch of data into it, spend hours on reports, or take months to learn.
Reliable EDM uses REALTRAC 10 to efficiently manage operations.
32971 Capitol Street
Livonia, MI 48150
Phone: (734) 793-3811
Press Contact: Tim Macdonald
855.769.9453
In his search for a shop control system that would increase productivity and have a short learning curve, the Sommer team narrowed the choice to just two systems. The clear leader from the beginning was REALTRAC’s Performance ERP. “I could immediately see what was possible with REALTRAC’s software,” John said, “so I scheduled a demo and was quite impressed. During the demo they also showed me the future version they had in development. After seeing that, I knew REALTRAC Performance ERP was the system for us, hands down.”
John was so convinced of REALTRAC’s benefit to Reliable EDM’s bottom line and future of their family’s non-traditional manufacturing business, that he delayed implementing any shop control software until the new release was ready -- which was over a year away.
REALTRAC 10 Performance ERP - Worth the wait
“John Sommer first contacted us in June of 2012 for a demo, and I set it up,” said Ron Settimi, REALTRAC’s sales representative for Reliable EDM. “He really liked what he saw with the REALTRAC shop control system, but he was pretty certain he wanted to wait for the REALTRAC 10 Performance ERP. John wouldn’t even let us install the current version.
“I could see the power of what they were developing,” John said. “I knew it was what we needed. It was worth the wait.”
According to John the REALTRAC 10 ERP was installed on April 7th, and their training was scheduled for the following week. Within two days of the training the whole shop was up and running on the new REALTRAC 10 Performance ERP.
No more chasing down old invoices - It’s all right on REALTRAC
Before REALTRAC 10, Reliable kept track of individual jobs with a bundle of hardcopy invoices, design prints, and job notes all stapled together. By the time the job shipped, the papers would get tucked away into filing cabinets. John noted, “If there were questions about older jobs, finding what you needed could take a long time.
“With REALTRAC 10 everything about a job is stored right in the system. No need to put job notes into filing cabinets. If a customer has a question about pricing, or any part of the job, it can be found quickly with REALTRAC. One of the best parts about the REALTRAC ERP is the drag and drop feature.
REALTRAC 10 allows Reliable EDM’s team to focus on results rather than problems.
32971 Capitol Street
Livonia, MI 48150
Phone: (734) 793-3811
Press Contact: Tim Macdonald
855.769.9453
“If something on a job changes, or an email about the job goes in or out, anyone on the job, from the shipping guy to the VP, can drag and drop any needed document into REALTRAC. And it stays with the job.
“There may be other ERP software out there that has features like this, but we found no one does it as effortlessly and seamlessly as REALTRAC.”
REALTRAC 10 shop control can be as customized as your job shop
Reliable specializes in EDM: wire EDM, ram/sinker EDM, and small hole EDM. They specialize in machining parts that no other form of machining can do and even impossible for other EDM shops to pull off.
Carl Sommer, started in the machining trade in 1949. He has worked as a tool and die maker, foreman, tool designer, and operations manager of a large tool and die and stamping job shop. Carl with his extensive machining experience, and his son, Steve, a mechanical engineer, provide them the resources to do unusual EDM jobs. For example: they can wire EDM parts up to 62 inches (1575 mm) tall. “Being in Houston, the energy capital of the word,” noted Carl, “we do EDM work that requires costly large EDM machines. We’re not the typical job shop.”
Carl and his son Steve have authored, Complete EDM Handbook. This book is used by colleges and technical schools. It is free on their website. www.ReliableEDM.com. Reliable EDM also offers free training videos about EDM and tool and die making on their website. Over 250,000 viewers
have watched these informative videos.
Increased shop productivity and job accountability on the shop floor
Ultimately, the goal for Reliable EDM has been to be able to machine any needed part for their customers in Texas’ Oil and Gas industry as well as the aerospace, automotive, and defense industries around the United States.
REALTRAC fits any shop floor setup and work flow with ease.
Increased productivity meant increased profits for Reliable EDM.
32971 Capitol Street
Livonia, MI 48150
Phone: (734) 793-3811
Press Contact: Tim Macdonald
855.769.9453
About REALTRAC | Based in Livonia, Michigan, REALTRAC Performance ERP is a software company specializing in manufacturing software for machine shops, job shops and make-to-order metal working manufacturers. The company was founded in the heart of a machine shop and has served the manufacturing industry for over three decades. The program is used by
thousands of users across North America. REALTRAC 10 was released in March 2014.
For More Information, contact Jeremy Klosowski at (734) 793-3811 or [email protected]
Since implementing REALTRAC 10, Reliable EDM has seen improved productivity on the shop floor with increased accountability of every aspect of a job. They use REALTRAC’s bar-coded routing templates to track each step of a job, from initial invoicing all the way to proof of delivery.
“Knowing what happens at every point on the job helps us improve quality of workmanship and accountability on the shop floor,” John said. “If there’s a problem at any point on the process, we know where it is and can fix it. Ultimately that means better service to our customers, better job cost control and higher profits.”
In the end, it’s about making the customers happier
For Reliable EDM, probably the biggest gain from REALTRAC has been their ability to be more responsive to their customer’s needs. Before implementing REALTRAC’s shop control system there was not a dependable system to track where a job was on Reliable EDM’s shop floor.
“Our accuracy on every aspect of a job is greater than ever before,” John reported. “We can predict delivery dates better and respond to customer needs during the job and even six months or a year down the road.
“With REALTRAC 10 we know the exact location of every job. There’s no more running around asking the whole shop where a specific job is. It has greatly helped our company to be more productive.”
Thanks to REALTRAC 10, Reliable EDM enjoys lower job costs, higher profits, a renewed focus on providing quality customer service.