Introduction
Halltech is a Toronto-based chemical manufacturer with a history dating back to 1934. Originally established as an adhesive manufacturer, the company expanded its operations in the early 1970s with the installation of polymer reactors, initially to support its own internal requirements. By the early 1990s, Halltech had diversified its operations and evolved into a full-scale polymer manufacturer. Today, as a privately owned Canadian company operating two manufacturing facilities in Canada, Halltech successfully competes with large multinational corporations throughout North America.
For more than 20 years, Halltech relied on an inventory system integrated with QuickBooks to manage sales, purchasing and product movement. That setup was adequate for an adhesives company, but it did not keep pace as the business grew. When the system’s parent company decided to phase it out, Halltech took the opportunity to look at its options. As Al Deli, Halltech’s President, explained, “In the past, we had a lot of piecemeal things. Our QC was in one section, sales was somewhere else, and inventory was in a third compartment.”
Selection
Before selecting BatchMaster, Halltech faced a fragmented environment in which combining quality, sales, and inventory data meant downloading spreadsheets and cross-referencing them by hand. Information from the production floor also reached the system late, which led to inaccuracies, and the system could not capture labor hours, time tracking or other costs. The result was a lack of transparency into where money was being spent.
Halltech approached its search methodically. The process took about two years, beginning with a recommendation from the company’s external accountants. Halltech reviewed the top four to six systems on the market, researched them online and called peers in the industry about what they used, narrowing the field to a handful of finalists.
In the end, several factors set BatchMaster apart:
- Industry fit. BatchMaster’s experience in chemical manufacturing was, in Deli’s words, the final nail in the decision. As a batch process manufacturer, Halltech saw a natural fit.
- A right-sized partner. Halltech wanted a vendor that would speak to them and not treat their company as a number, and that offered a focus the company saw as a better fit than a larger competitor.
- Support beyond the sale. As Deli noted, “We are great with chemistry, we are great with manufacturing, but IT is not our strong suit. The idea is to partner with a company that will support us in this progression and not just say, here’s your software, call us if you have questions.”
The decision ultimately came down to confidence in the people. Deli explained, “Everyone’s your friend. Everyone loves you when you’re trying to buy something. Are they there when the problems occur?”
Objectives and Benefits
Bringing Departments Together in One Platform
Halltech will connect sales, production, quality control, finance and accounting, and, eventually, R&D to a single ERP, replacing separate programs and spreadsheet work. The goal is greater transparency between departments and faster response when problems arise. As Deli put it, “Transparency and speed are critical more and more. With an ERP system, it gives the ability to be more transparent between departments, and the speed to respond to issues will be a lot faster.”
Gaining Visibility into Costs and Efficiency
Halltech expects BatchMaster Cloud ERP to give it the cost visibility it lacks today, including labor and container costs, along with the KPIs and time studies of production and packaging that support consistent standards. Deli identified efficiency as the primary goal: “The number one thing is efficiencies. It’s critical that we have a system that ensures we run efficiently and captures our potential losses, whether in time or in accuracy.”
Responding Faster to Raw Material Cost Changes
Halltech’s raw materials are petroleum-based, and global conflicts have caused price increases and shortages. In the past, supplier cost increases took two to three months to reach the sales team. Halltech expects its ERP to close that gap. Deli explained, “It’s critical that as raw material costs go up, we’re able to capture that in our pricing model so we can pass on our prices to our customers at the same time.” Greater transparency in raw material purchasing will also help Halltech stay compliant with the cross-border trade rules that apply to its U.S. shipments.
Capturing Production Data in Real Time
Today, information from the plant floor can take three to four hours to reach the system. With BatchMaster Cloud ERP and its warehouse management and barcode scanning capabilities, Halltech plans to scan materials as they are used so that data flows into the system immediately. Deli described it as his top priority: “The idea of going back to immediate information capturing, live, was critical to us. As it’s being used, it’s being scanned and put into the system, instead of going through a three-to-four-hour delay.”
Moving to the Cloud
Halltech expects BatchMaster Cloud ERP to provide the memory, speed and security it needs as the company grows, as well as easier access for its Quebec facility. Adding software to its own server had slowed the system down and required constant attention to security upgrades. Moving to the cloud will also shift that infrastructure burden to BatchMaster.
Looking Ahead
The company’s team is looking forward to the change. As Deli observed, “There’s always fear of change, but with the fear comes some excitement. Staff have been struggling with the software we’ve had for a number of years, so they are hoping this will alleviate a lot of the problems we’ve had in the past.”
Deli is realistic about what lies ahead: “My standard comment is, I don’t know what I don’t know.” What he does know is what Halltech needs: real-time data, clear cost visibility and a partner that will be there as the company grows.
