Automation Outfitters Inc.

Automation Outfitters Inc. is a family business that was started in 2005 and initially focused on residential automation. Today it includes commercial and industrial automation with home automation being a smaller focus of the business. They have seen significant growth over the past 10 years with the addition of 16 new employees. Automation Outfitters is an OEM control manufacturer and they build engineered-to-order control panels that operate and power manufacturing facilities. Their industry is very specific, but they also do some other service and electrical work.

Sharon Evans has worked at Automation Outfitters for four years. Due to it being a small business, she has to wear many hats including accounting, HR, and office manager. She also oversees the purchasing, customer service, and warehouse departments. Sharon was around for both the implementation of their previous software and when they made the switch to E2.

Before E2, Automation Outfitters was struggling with almost every aspect of the old software. Everyone in the building used the software for some part of their job, and there were bottlenecks throughout. It would slow down or completely halt the computers, backing up their whole process constantly. Global Shop’s software was supposed to be making their jobs easier, not more difficult. It didn’t take long for Automation Outfitters to start looking for a replacement ERP system.

When looking for something to replace Global Shop, they started with a very long list of vendors before they narrowed it down. At this point, Sharon said she was already sold on E2 for a number of reasons. She thought that E2 was going to be easy enough for everyone to learn and do everything they needed software for, plus it had some additional features to grow into. They made the decision to switch to E2 in 2018 because it would be more beneficial to their company.

The implementation process for E2 was much easier than the previous one, according to Sharon. After the last implementation, they had a better idea of what to expect and had learned from past mistakes. Also, they had a lot of support and resources when implementing E2. The time Automation Outfitters invested in training and working with their implementation specialist paid off. When it was time for the go-live date, they jumped in head-first.

Now that Automation Outfitters is running E2 completely, their whole process has been streamlined and they aren’t running into bottlenecks like before. Employees that are using the Data Collection module and clocking time have really helped their bottom line. Now they’re able to see the true costs for jobs in E2. Sharon, who’s in the software every day, says “it has truly been an overall improvement from our old software.”

Looking ahead, Automation Outfitters hopes to continue to see growth in the future, this includes expanding their team. As they continue to bring on more people, E2 software is going to benefit them greatly. There’s a plan in place for when they reach a certain size where they can create a quality team, and they will be able to expand through the Quality Module. While Automation Outfitters grows their shop, they can have more specialized roles that function within E2.