Managing a pallet or low-grade lumber operation has never been more demanding. Productivity, effective communication and waste reduction are not optional if you want to stay successful. That’s why it may be time to revisit the manual, disconnected methods that most pallet companies use to track key sales, production and inventory information. And the PalMate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is designed to turn your data into a better way to do business.
Although PalMate was first launched by Automated Machine Systems (AMS) of Jenison, Mich. in 2004, it has taken leaps ahead over the past year to become a complete solution to enhance every aspect of a pallet and sawmill business. Most recently PalMate has added an Inventory Reconciliation module to eliminate manual inventory comparisons and a Customer Portal module to allow pallet buyers online order management.
PalMate has also made it easier to get started by developing a Project Management Process. After the sale, one representative is assigned to guide a new customer through the process from gathering the proper data to installation to system setup and basic training. To guide the data gathering process, PalMate provides spreadsheets that demonstrate the type of data that needs to be collected and the proper format for the information.
Jamie Doyle is the former head of PalMate sales and now works for L&R Pallet in Colorado, a new PalMate customer. He said, “PalMate wants to make the process as easy and comfortable for the customer as possible. The project manager knows the customer’s business and is able to best guide how to set up and tailor each system to the customer’s needs. While the entire PalMate team stands ready to assist, having one knowledgeable person guide the process provides ease of mind for customers.”
Doyle added, “Everybody can use a spreadsheet. This provides a familiar process to gather data. The customer may simply just take an existing spreadsheet or data from its accounting package.”
My Paper System Works Fine for Me
Many pallet and low-grade lumber companies think their current systems are adequate to do the job. But PalMate customers have seen the power of this system.
Doyle explained, “Your paper system may be working just fine. But I promise you it is not working as fast or efficiently as PalMate. What PalMate does is generate all the scheduling when you enter a sales order. This eliminates redundant handling and administrative tasks. Paper gets lost. And the more times you have to transfer that data from a piece of paper to a white board to whatever, the greater likelihood you have that an error will be made.”
PalMate has enabled companies to reduce the number of administrative staff while improving communication and office workflow. It improves inventory management, eliminates lost orders, reduces the amount of inventory you have to keep on hand and allows for improved productivity tracking.
Crate & Pallet Packaging Co. (www.crateandpallet.com) is a young, fast growing company in Springfield, Ill. that is using just about every part of PalMate, including the Plant Floor Data Collection module. Crate & Pallet has two locations using the software. It started as a pallet brokering company and then launched full-scale manufacturing and recycling operations about two years ago.
Dick McCormick, owner of Crate & Pallet, said, “The biggest benefit that I see is that we can track the production of our employees. We can identify people who aren’t working as efficiently as others. Before we tried to estimate everything, now we have real data to analyze.”
Crate & Pallet uses kiosks to track production numbers. It is the first company in the country to use a hand scanner with the new PalMate Inventory Reconciliation module to reduce the amount of time it takes to reconcile inventory levels in the system with what is actually on the plant floor and in storage.
Crate & Pallet previously had to bring out an inventory list and compare each stack of pallets or lumber bundle with the written records. Now, all that has to be done is for an employee to scan the bar code tags and upload the data. The system automatically reconciles the data counts with what was previously in the system.
McCormick said, “We are trying to get better control of our inventories. We want to bring our inventories down. We would like to cut it to about half where we are today. This would help us save capital and better ensure that we have what we need to serve customers. Our inventory is now down from six weeks to about 37 days thanks to the PalMate software.”
Jerry VonDeBur, operations manager for Crate & Pallet, said, “PalMate solved the problem of tracking true costs of lumber traveling through our operation.”
Getting Started in Record Time
When Crate & Pallet decided to utilize PalMate ERP, Dick McCormick thought his company could implement the software quickly and set a plan to be fully using the system in 90 days. Doyle explained that the new Project Management Process helped facilitate a quick ramp up because PalMate had never gone through an implementation that fast. Now that PalMate has developed its Project Management Process, it hopes future implementations will take no more than six to eight weeks.
The Project Manager is the central figure in the process because he is always available to the new customer to assist in guiding the process. Crate and Pallet went from installation to using the software live in six weeks.
McCormick said, “It was hats off to our guys for implementing everything, training our people, and then continuing to train. PalMate has been tremendous at fixing any issues that we had and helping us meet our implementation goals.”
VonDeBur explained that having a Software Implementation Plan is crucial for success, especially if you want to get it done right the first time. This should cover the key goals of the process, the data collection priorities and challenges, responsibilities of various employees to feed data into the system, training schedules, etc. Some things need to be done in a particular order to maximize the efficiencies of the software. It can do so much that you can’t do everything at once. In this instance, the launch of PalMate coincided with the introduction of some new equipment into the operation.
Crate & Pallet decided to start with its lumber and new pallet operations first. The recycling operation will follow as a new sortation line should be introduced sometime soon. PalMate already includes modules specifically dedicated to managing sort/repair lines.
Online Customer Order Management
One of the most exciting new developments for PalMate will allow customers to manage and place orders online. This is something that used to be reserved for only some of the biggest players in the market. PalMate has developed this new module and is beta testing it right now.
Doyle said, “The customer portal raises more interest than just about anything these days. It is something that customers are really chattering about.”
Daniel Bradish, lead PalMate developer, said that the customer portal allows customers to create orders, monitor order status, and view recent previous orders over the Internet. It is designed to be simple to use yet allow the pallet buyer to control key functions. For example, the pallet buyer can set up accounts for others in the company to place orders without being able to see pricing or other sensitive information. Users can place orders by simply reordering a previous order or placing a new one based on the standard orders for that particular account. Custom instructions can be added as well. Customers can even request a trailer pickup from recyclers. The system sends e-mail reminder notices to the pallet supplier as soon as a new order is placed online.
The Customer Portal is a Web-based module that is hosted on AMS servers. But it interacts with the main PalMate system for each pallet company that is hosted remotely on the customer’s servers. All customer data is protected so that no competitor can see what another company is doing.
Currently, AMS plans to offer the Customer Portal as a separate module that costs extra. But given the enhancement this can be to customers that demand online ordering, this new feature is a welcomed addition to the PalMate software.
In addition to the Customer Portal, AMS recently added a trailer tracking feature to the base system. As long as trailer data is recorded as trailers go in and out of the yard, you can tell what trailers are available in the yard, which ones are at a particular customer location, how long those trailers have been there, etc. It even works to manage trailers for multiple facilities.
The Pallet Business Is a Data Business
Many people think that running a pallet operation is all about the lumber and the incoming cores. But you can’t effectively manage these without keeping track of your data.
McCormick said, “We wanted to separate ourselves from most of the other companies that I had done business with when I was brokering pallets. Most everybody did business on a pad of paper with a pen.” He felt that having a better hold on his data would give his fledgling company a strategic advantage.
Even though AMS makes the process as easy as possible, there are always challenges when you try to change things. VonDeBur said, “Guys who cut wood for a living don’t like to go near a computer. It was a bit of a challenge in the training process. You have to put a little discipline in there. But the final result is everybody is using it.”
Crate & Pallet tied compensation to the use of the system, which forced line workers to see the value in the system real quick because it hit them in the pocketbook if they didn’t comply.
PalMate conducted initial training and came in to provide on-site training for an extra fee. Most employees were segmented by departments so that they learned only what they needed to know. This reduces the learning curve a bit and simplifies the acclimation process.
One of the most critical steps is to prioritize what you want the system to do and what benefits are most important to your operation. VonDeBur said, “PalMate can do so many different things. You really have to plan it out for your company. It is a very flexible system.”
You will also need to analyze how the system will work with other sensitive software programs, especially your accounting package. Currently, AMS offers integration for the following popular accounting packages: Quickbooks, Peachtree, Mas90, Multiview and is adding Simply Accounting this summer.
Commenting on the entire PalMate experience, McCormick said, “AMS was straight forward about the capabilities of the system. We were pleased that the software did everything they said it could do and more. We were also pleased with the service and support, which has been tremendous.”
Consider the questions on the attached sidebar, if you think these are areas where your company could improve, consider giving PalMate a try. For more information on PalMate contact AMS at 877/267-8384 or visit www.PalMateerp.com.
