Ever wish you could cut out the tedious parts of your job and get straight to the good stuff? That’s exactly what CW Metal Products did, and let’s say, they’ve gone full throttle.
Let’s rewind a bit.
Meet CW Metal Products: Where the Metal Meets the Roof
Based in Texas and backed by over 25 years of experience, CW Metal Products is the trusted name for high-quality metal trims and flashings. Whether it’s for residential rooftops or commercial constructions, they provide durable, custom-fabricated metal pieces faster than you can say “galvanized.”
Their goals are simple:
– Offer top-tier metal products at fair prices
– Ensure timely delivery, every time
– Customize products to meet specific project needs
– Keep the customer as the main focus
However, with great products come great processes, and that’s where some challenges began to arise.
The Challenge: Stuck Between a Roof and a Hard Place
CW Metals use Fishbowl for their everyday operations.This software used to manage their inventory, order processing, and customer information. However, when Bendex, a powerful tool for designing 2D/3D models of custom metal parts came into the picture, it created a challenge. While Bendex is great for production, it required manual entry of every custom order into Fishbowl.
Just think about it: entering each item, customer, and detail for every single order. Every day, that meant handling around 30 orders with more than 10 line items each, leading to up to 300 data entries daily. It’s quite overwhelming. They urgently needed a solution.
Enter GIR Software Services: Bridging the Gap with Boomi
CW Metals was already familiar with GIR through its parent company, Corey Construction. When they brought us in, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.
Our mission: Connect Bendex and Fishbowl so data can move smoothly without human help.
The tool of choice: Boomi – Our trusty middleware that talks to both systems, even when one’s living on a server and the other’s busy drafting metal masterpieces.
The Solution: Building the Bridge
Here’s how we made it happen:
Step 1: Lay the Groundwork
Before writing a single line of code, we held discovery meetings with CW Metals to fully understand their workflow, pain points, and goals. We mapped everything out with clear visuals and met weekly to stay aligned.
Step 2: Connecting the Systems with Boomi
We installed a Boomi Atom directly on CW’s local machine, which hosts both Bendex and Fishbowl. This setup acted as a digital translator, ensuring that both systems could communicate securely and efficiently. We attempted a cloud Boomi installation due to the limitations we utilized Boomi on premise atom feature.
We tested all API calls using tools like Postman and carefully developed the integration flow:
– Orders created and approved in Bendex are automatically sent to Fishbowl.
– This eliminates the need for double entries and reduces the risk of mix-ups.
– Updates are processed automatically.
● Cancellations or changes still require a manual process, but everything else is hands-free.
Step 3: Test, Test, Test
We followed our standard development checklist:
● Unit testing
● QA break-it sessions
● UAT by the CW team
● Deployment with rollback options (just in case)
The Results: Saved Time, Improved Accuracy, Happier Team.
Let’s discuss the numbers.
Time Saved:
● 8 to 10 hours per day by eliminating manual data entry.
● 4 to 5 team members can focus on production and customer service.
Accuracy Improved:
● No more double data entry means no more entry errors
● Orders go out right the first time, cutting down on costly mistakes
Productivity Boosted:
● Able to handle 30+ custom orders per day, each with 10+ items
● Orders move faster and more efficiently, even during peak demand
Customer Satisfaction:
● Faster turnaround times
● Fewer errors = happier clients
● More trust in delivery timelines
Data Insights
● Integrating systems allows for cleaner, more accurate data. Enhanced visibility into orders, timelines, and workloads is achieved.
Scalable
● Solution is scalable if business continues growing
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for CW Metals?
CW Metals is already seeing the benefits of automation. And while they’re sticking with Fishbowl for now, there’s chatter about upgrading to NetSuite in the future.
And when they’re ready? GIR will be right there with them.
The Key Insight: Intelligent Integration Leads to Real Results
CW Metals didn’t need to overhaul everything; they simply needed to connect the right elements. With the assistance of GIR, they transformed hours of manual data entry into streamlined, automated workflows. The result? A leaner, faster, smarter operation. And in the world of roofing components, that’s what we call a flashing success.
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