Matt is a seasoned production manager who has spent years in the trenches of job shop manufacturing. He’s the kind of guy who knows the ins and outs of every process on the shop floor, from the moment a customer places an order to the final shipment leaving the dock. But despite his experience, there was one part of the job that always got under his skin: the endless manual paperwork.
One day, Matt was tasked with processing a large order—a typical day in the life of a production manager. The order had 12-15 line items, each requiring meticulous attention. He had to take the information from the customer’s purchase order and manually translate it onto the packing slip.
This was no small feat. Each line item had to be carefully transcribed by hand, a task that would take hours to complete each day from customer to customer.
As Matt started the process, his hand cramped up. He looked down at the first page, knowing there were many more to go. “There has to be a better way,” he thought to himself, frustrated by the inefficiency. He could feel the minutes slipping away, time he knew could be better spent on more critical tasks.
Not longer afterwards, his company was purchased by a former Amazon employee. The new owner, Chad, was hungry for data and automation... he wanted a platform similar to an Amazon-level hub for operations.
On the hunt of a platform suited for the powder coating business, he found Steelhead Technologies, and Matt was fully onboard to get the ball rolling towards automation.
Streamlining Operations
Chad and Matt launched the Starter Package which allowed them to take advantage of quick wins with moving parts, not paper. In just a few weeks they had a fully digital system, transferring info and parts with tablets.
With just a few clicks—click, click, click—Matt could now transfer all that detailed information from the purchase order directly into the system, automatically generating the necessary packing slips without lifting a pen. The transformation was immediate. What once took hours could now be done in minutes!
“I simply can’t describe how much time and effort I save using Steelhead,” Matt said with a sigh of relief. “The time savings are nearly immeasurable.”
For Matt, the shift from manual processes to automation wasn’t just about saving time—it was about reclaiming control over his day, reducing stress, and focusing on what really mattered: delivering quality work on time, every time.
Automating Purchase Orders and Packing Slips
Manual processes in job shop manufacturing can be incredibly time-consuming, leading to inefficiencies that cost businesses both time and money. When creating purchase orders (POs), entering data into spreadsheets, and coordinating the shipping and receiving process on paper, these tasks not only consume valuable employee hours but also introduce the potential for errors that can further disrupt operations.
Time Wasted in Manual Processes
Manually creating and managing POs can take up to 30 minutes per order. Entering data into spreadsheets is another time sink, especially when dealing with large volumes of information. Studies show that employees spend an average of 20-30% of their time on repetitive data entry tasks. According to a study by the International Data Corporation (IDC), companies lose 20-30% in revenue every year due to inefficiencies, with a significant portion attributed to manual data entry.
Coordinating shipping and receiving manually can take hours, as it requires tracking orders, updating statuses, and managing inventory without real-time visibility. The Logistics Management Institute (LMI) found that companies can save up to 50% of the time spent on logistics operations by automating these processes.
The Impact of Time Wasted
When all these tasks are combined, it’s easy to see how much time is wasted on manual processes. In a typical job shop, these inefficiencies can lead to
Longer lead times
missed deadlines
increase in rework rates
increased labor costs
For a shop that processes hundreds of POs and shipments each month, the cumulative effect can be staggering.
For example, if a shop manually processes 100 POs a month, that’s up to 50 hours spent on just one task. Add to that the time spent on data entry and logistics coordination, and it’s clear that the manual approach is unsustainable in a competitive job shop manufacturing environment.
"Every day this lady would spend half her day scanning in paper travelers,” explained the Production Manager at a large, US-based metal plating facility. “We do not need that anymore. She now spends her day filling out NDAs and quality forms for the new customers we are signing up!"
The data is clear: manual processes waste a significant amount of time in job shop manufacturing. By automating tasks like PO creation, data entry, and logistics coordination, job shops can reclaim valuable hours, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency. This shift not only boosts productivity but also enhances the bottom line, making it a crucial step for any job shop looking to stay competitive in today’s market.
Streamline Order Entry with Automation
"I have now saved 25% of my day. That much time I would have to get up to go check things in the shop and or powder stock... So yeah it has saved me a tremendous amount of time"
Matt Dady, Production Manager