Manufacturing software

Spring into Efficiency with These 4 Tips

efficient spring cleaning

Spring is often the time we start cleaning out homes and making them look nice. This spring, consider cleaning up your shop’s operations and making them more efficient. Below are four tips to help you.  Track Important Data  To make your shop more efficient, you have to determine how you’re going to measure that. Do you want to send out more…

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Customer Success: How Data Collection Helped Two Shops

data collection

Data collection is often an unsung hero of ERP software, but it’s what we build everything else on. Putting good data into your ERP system means getting good information out. First Tool Corporation and Rapid Design Group both saw first-hand what data collection could do for their shops.  First Tool Corporation  First Tool Corporation has seen some great changes from data collection….

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Survey Results: How Cloud Software Helps Small Businesses

software on the cloud

This past year has been hard on small businesses. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council partnered with TechnoMetrica to survey small businesses and find out what impact software on the cloud had on their businesses. Their cloud software helped a large majority in various ways. The two biggest ways it helped them were by keeping their shops open…

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4 Tips for Great Job Shop Virtual Meetings

virtual meeting tips

Virtual meetings have become huge over the past year, and they’re here to stay. Even after we can gather in groups again, customers may still opt for the convenience of a virtual meeting rather than an in-person meeting. This means you might be making your first impression through a computer screen rather than in person. Make…

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How to Communicate in a Job Shop While Social Distancing

ERP helps with social distancing

Things change quickly in job shops, and it’s important to make sure everyone can keep up. However, it’s hard to talk to people on the shop floor while social distancing. The more your shop is optimizing for things like profitability and meeting due dates, the more often you might need to communicate with the folks on the…

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4 Ways Legacy ERP Software Is Holding Your Shop Back

legacy ERP software

While legacy ERP software is better than spreadsheets, it’s not nearly as good as ERP software that is still getting updated. As technology continues to advance, having unsupported ERP software means that your shop is falling behind. You could also lose some of the functionality that you already have. Far from helping your shop, legacy…

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How Low Volume, Low-Value RFQs Can Help Your Machine Shop

Accepting low-value RFQs

On the surface, low volume, low-value RFQs from unfamiliar customers may seem like a waste of time for your machine shop. They’re too small to bring in as much profit as larger orders, and you don’t want to take time to figure out a quote for a new job. However, these jobs can be a…

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What is ERP Software and How Can It Help My Shop?

ERP software for manufacturers

If you’re looking for a way to make your shop better, you’ve probably heard of ERP software. You’ve also probably heard that it helps with efficiency and that it helps get more jobs out on time. But that doesn’t really tell you what it is. It doesn’t have to be hard to get a straight…

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How Can Section 179 Help Your Shop?

section 179 savings

If you haven’t yet reached the deduction limit for section 179, there are less than two months to make your purchases. You don’t want to leave money on the table. There have been a few changes to this section of tax law for 2020 to continue to help businesses. This article gives a quick overview…

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Post-Lockdown Improvements through ERP Software

how technology can help your business

2020 has hit hard. As manufacturers reopen and continue to find ways to keep their employees safe and their machines running, efficiency and improvements become even more important. Technology can help any job shop become more efficient and keep it running. Below are three ways ERP software can assist a shop post-lockdown to run even…

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Great ERP Software Has a Community of Support

support team

When choosing ERP software, it’s important to consider support. Most vendors will have phone lines available for support, but there are times when different methods are better. Sometimes it’s best to make answering your question a group effort. Shoptech’s E2 Customer Community truly is a community of Shoptech customers that allows them to come together…

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MFG Day 2020 is Different but Still Worth It

MFG Day 2020

Every year, the first Friday of October is MFG Day. MFG Day is a time for shops to show off what they can do, and for curious people to learn more about them. Like with so many other events this year, MFG Day 2020 is going to look a little different. Fortunately, the people behind…

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Take Your Machine Shop into the Future with ERP Software

Going paperless with ERP

Over the years, ERP software has been changing to help fit its users’ needs. Most recently, those needs have made software that is safe, accessible, and smart. Imagine being able to hold all of the information you need to run your shop in the palm of your hand, and access it from anywhere. What if…

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4 Building Blocks for Manufacturing Success

Running a job shop is difficult work, and each has specific needs. However, there are four building blocks, along with a good ERP software, that can help any job shop. With accurate invoicing, a broad customer base, great customer relationships, and efficient scheduling, any job shop will have a great foundation to succeed. Accurate Invoicing…

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2 Big Ways to Reduce Meetings in Your Machine Shop

reduce meetings with ERP

Many people have been working from home over the past few months, and one of the side effects they’ve seen is fewer meetings. There’s a joke that many meetings could have just been emails. Now people are seeing the truth behind that. There are many things in a machine shop that you can’t do from…

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An Opportunity for Change in Your Job Shop

time to make changes in your shop

We’re going to continue to see the impact from COVID-19 for a long time. Your shop has probably already had to make changes, and you may have to make more. As long as you’re making changes in your shop, it may be time to think through some improvements you’ve been considering. These improvements can be…

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How to Keep Your Shop Running with a Smaller Team

tracking jobs to keep your shop running

There’s been a lot of upheaval and changes in the last few months. For some manufacturers, they have fewer employees working, but a similar amount of work to get done. Whether these employees are out on sick leave, were laid off, or any other reason, that leaves the shop owner to figure out how to…

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Best Practices for Running a Shop during the Pandemic

Everyone is looking for answers because this pandemic is uncharted territory. Decision Makers are doing their best with the information they have, but it’s hard to come up with the best solution if you don’t know the options. There are best practices for running a shop during the pandemic, and you can apply them to…

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Data Collection: How Can It Help Your Shop?

The way you run your shop is only as good as the information you have. If you don’t know what jobs make money for your shop, then you can’t take more jobs like them. If the numbers you’re relying on are inaccurate, you won’t be able to run your shop as well as you’d like….

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COVID-19 Could Lead to Growth of Local Manufacturing

potential growth for local manufacturers

Whatever else is going on in the world, people still need to buy certain things. For example, medical supplies are in high demand. People are doing their best to keep their everyday lives running as well. That means that even if your shop makes things that aren’t in high demand, there’s probably still a need…

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When a New ERP System Makes All the Difference

time for a new ERP system

ERP systems are meant to make running your shop easier. However, if you get the wrong ERP system, it can make running your shop a nightmare. Screwmatics, QT Magnetic Solutions, and Prototype Casting all had the wrong ERP systems for their shops. They switched to E2, which has proven to be the right ERP system…

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How to Manage a Machine Shop

best practices of managing a machine shop

Many people end up managing a machine shop because they started it. When they started, their shop was small. However, as their shop grew, they hired more people until they were doing more managing than they were working the machines. For others, they came into a management position more directly. No matter how you got…

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4 Ways to Reduce Scrap Material in Your Shop

No shop wants to have scrap material. It is possible to sell or recycle scrap, but it’s better not to have it in the first place. Reducing your shop’s scraps can raise your bottom line and improve the flow of work on your shop floor. Quality Control One of the easiest ways to reduce scrap…

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What Your Shop Can Do with Great Accounting Software

great accounting software creates a more profitable shop

With a subpar accounting program, it can be hard to tell how much money your shop is making. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if your shop is making money at all! Using the right accounting program will make it easier to protect your shop from economic trouble and raise your bottom line. Surviving the Recession…

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