Going Digital to Get Visibility, Save Time & Boost Customer Satisfaction

Summary: The company drives streamlined digital operations, saving 10-15 hours per week on Quality management alone while unlocking new market opportunities with Steelhead’s capabilities. 

Anchor Bay Powder Coat is a leading provider of high-quality powder coating services, specializing in military-grade applications. With a commitment to delivering exceptional results, they serve a diverse range of customers, including defense contractors, industrial manufacturers, and automotive companies. As their business grew, Anchor Bay Powder Coat faced operational challenges in managing orders, certifications, specifications, and quality control. To overcome these obstacles and optimize their processes, they partnered with Steelhead Technologies. 

Challenge 

Initially, Anchor Bay Powder Coat relied on verbal orders, which soon became unmanageable. They transitioned to spreadsheets and later integrated QuickBooks for order tracking. However, QuickBooks lacked plant-specific visibility and operational data. This resulted in a lack of clarity and inefficient workflows. Additionally, managing certifications and specifications, especially for military projects, proved time-consuming and required meticulous attention to detail. Paper-based documentation was prone to loss, leading to delays in project completion and customer frustration. 

Solution 

Anchor Bay Powder Coat implemented Steelhead Technologies' integrated solution to address their operational challenges. The platform offered advanced features designed specifically for the powder coating industry, enabling improved visibility, streamlined processes, and enhanced quality management. 

Plant Visibility and Order Management 

With Steelhead Technologies, Anchor Bay Powder Coat gained real-time visibility into their operations. Orders were no longer reliant on verbal communication or cumbersome spreadsheets. Instead, they were seamlessly managed within the platform. “With me not being there physically doing the work any longer, being able to actually see what work happened – I love it,” explained Robert Thomas, Owner of Anchor Bay Powder Coat. “Now I have a picture in Steelhead, I have the data in Steelhead, I can give that to my customers and there’s no question. This is it. Perfect.” 

Efficient Certifications and Specifications 

Steelhead Technologies revolutionized the certification and specification management process for Anchor Bay Powder Coat. Previously, handling paperwork proved burdensome and error-prone. Certificates, prints, and masking instructions were at risk of being lost or damaged, resulting in delays. By transitioning to a digital workflow, Anchor Bay Powder Coat eliminated these issues. Now, they simply scanned the product, and all relevant information was stored securely within the platform. Generating certifications became a streamlined process, requiring only a few clicks to create and send accurate certificates to customers. “Certifications are just so easy now,” explains Sam Pugliese, Operations Manager. “Making a cert is literally just button clicking. You’re making sure you are inventorying all of your powders and choosing them on your work orders. You literally just click a button, a cert is auto-generated, you sign it on the screen, and send it to your customer. It streamlines it so fast.” 

Seamless QuickBooks Integration 

Steelhead Technologies seamlessly integrated with QuickBooks, enabling automated invoicing and enhancing visibility into invoice status. Invoices generated within the platform were automatically converted into QuickBooks, saving time and eliminating the need for manual data entry. Additionally, the team can harness insights into the status of sent invoices, including when they were emailed and opened by customers. “I like that Steelhead can take the invoicing that I do and convert it automatically into QuickBooks,” explains Sarah Thomas, Office Manager. “I am also able to see when customers are emailed their invoices and when they open their invoices.” 

Streamlined Quality Management 

Digitizing the quality management process was a game-changer. “Steelhead saves me about two to three hours a day which is huge,” explains Tyler Burge, Quality Manager. The platform's capabilities saved the Quality Manager an average of 40 to 60 hours (about 5-8 business days) per month. By having all quality-related data entered into Steelhead Technologies, tracking down historical paperwork or identifying process errors became significantly easier. “Before if you had to track down paperwork from the customer that was maybe a couple months old, it’s a lot easier now,” Tyler shares. “You can see if someone made a mistake in the process, including who it was, it makes everything so much more streamlined. So much easier.” 

Exceptional Support and Time Savings 

In addition to its robust functionality, Anchor Bay Powder Coat greatly valued the exceptional support provided by Steelhead Technologies. " If I have a problem, someone is on it with ridiculously fast support,” explains Sam Pugliese. “If you have a problem and receive support in a matter of minutes, your work is going to be able to get moved through your shop and get out your door and the customer is not going to feel that at all. It saves me hours a day. It’s just so easy.” 

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