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“From a program standpoint, you guys are phenomenal. You guys really figured out the manufacturing program side of everything; it just works. The programming of it is very smooth.”
Mina Mikhail
Project Manager
Miller Stephenson Chemical Company
Download Success Story
Download Success Story

Customer

Miller Stephenson Chemical Company

Industry

Chemical

Location

Danbury, CT

Solution

BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One

Systems Replaced

Proprietary In-House Apps

Specialty Chemical Manufacturer Automates and Gains Full Visibility with BatchMaster ERP

Miller Stephenson Chemical Company, a specialty chemical manufacturer established in 1955, needed to modernize its “legacy systems,” which were limited and did not support its growth. After signing with BatchMaster in January 2017 and completing implementation in January 2019, Miller Stephenson successfully transitioned to BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One. The unified system replaced multiple manual processes, giving the company real-time visibility and control to scale production and ensure compliance in a highly regulated industry.

OVERVIEW

Miller Stephenson Chemical Company manufactures a variety of specialty chemicals, including conformal coatings, solvents, oils, greases, and lubricants. The company also serves as the small-packaging distributor for Krytox, supplying products to half of America from its Connecticut facility. The complex nature of chemical manufacturing required a robust ERP solution that could manage production, inventory, and compliance in a single platform.

KEY RESULTS

Miller Stephenson sought a solution that encompassed all departments in one package and was specifically designed for manufacturing. They chose BatchMaster ERP, integrated with SAP Business One, because:

  • Increased Production: The smooth, automated production system sped up the entire process, allowing the company to meet growing demand and produce more products throughout the year.

  • Real-Time Visibility: Eliminated manual delivery of orders; sales, production, and shipping all see new orders instantly, enabling faster, proactive planning.

  • Lot Traceability: Gained the ability to trace every pound of raw material from the time it was received, and track products by lot number, allowing the team to investigate and resolve inventory discrepancies.

  • Streamlined Compliance: Achieved rapid compliance by utilizing BatchMaster's flexibility to quickly customize documents and forms (like adding terms and conditions to invoices) to meet new chemical regulations.

  • Improved Purchasing: Better control over inventory and purchasing patterns, including tracking vendor lead times and setting reminders to prevent running out of critical items.

CHALLENGES

For decades, Miller Stephenson relied on two legacy, proprietary in-house applications for inventory and order processing, with all other accounting-related functions being outsourced or handled manually.
The “manual process” meant that a printed order had to physically move “around the building” from raw material to manufacturing, quality, and shipping, requiring a lot of manpower and causing delays. Production departments would often wait for paper orders to come their way.
Furthermore, reporting and compliance tasks were cumbersome. The company struggled to find a single program that could handle all parts of the value chain: sales, production, inventory, financials, and payment processing.

SOLUTION

Miller Stephenson sought a solution that encompassed all departments in a single package, specifically a manufacturing-focused solution. They chose BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One, because:

  • Manufacturing Focus: BatchMaster was a program “specifically for manufacturing” that provided the “full picture in one program.”

  • Flexibility for Unique Products: The system successfully handled the company’s “unique one-off products” and varied situations, which were a critical part of their business.

  • Strong Integration: BatchMaster's integration with SAP Business One was a significant benefit, leveraging a widely used platform with readily available online information.

  • Customization and Support: BatchMaster's team was willing to accommodate demands, such as changing invoices or documents for compliance, which other solution providers would not do or would charge heavily for.

BENEFITS

The implementation of BatchMaster led to a fundamental shift in operations, moving the company from its limited legacy systems to an agile, automated one.

Visibility, Planning, and Communication:

The system provided “visibility and communication between all of us.” The moment a sales order is entered, the production floor receives it immediately, eliminating the need to print or walk orders. This real-time view allows the company to accurately forecast and plan, build stock based on system orders, and eliminate delays caused by production waiting for work.

Inventory Control and Traceability:

Inventory is now “much more visible and accurate.” The system tracks stock levels and can notify staff when a mark is hit. More critically, the BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One solution enables forensic investigation of inventory. If raw material numbers are off, the system allows staff to trace batch tickets to purchase orders and receiving paperwork to identify the source of the discrepancy. This functionality also extends to tracking non-inventoried items, helping prevent problems before they become critical.

Compliance and Quality:

BatchMaster manages the requirements of a regulated chemical company by centralizing document control. When a new regulation or term needs to be added (e.g., terms and conditions on invoices), the change is applied once to the sales order template, making it visible on every subsequent printed order automatically. This replaced the tedious, manual process of updating thousands of individual documents. From a quality standpoint, the customized queries created by the BatchMaster team have saved “thousands of hours of work” by pulling required details from various reports into a single, accessible view.

Purchasing and Reporting:

All purchasing reports are centralized, allowing the team to compare vendor prices, lead times, and quality side by side, helping the company “spend wisely.” The ability to add indicators and reminders to items based on lead times and usage history helps prevent stockouts, a common issue before BatchMaster.

READY FOR GROWTH

Miller Stephenson Chemical Company is now poised for ongoing success, equipped with an intuitive, robust platform that supports its growth trajectory and complex manufacturing needs. BatchMaster ERP with the SAP Business One solution successfully eliminated manual, paper-based processes. It provided accurate visibility and automation across the entire value chain, from sales order to shipping.
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“The functionality of the program does the job that we're asking it to do thoroughly and engages the users to do their job correctly because it's the proper tool for them to complete their tasks for the day. By mastering the manufacturing program side of the business, Miller Stephenson has leveraged the integrated BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One solution to build a foundation for maintaining high standards and increasing production, ensuring the company's continued competitive edge.”

- Mina Mikhail, Project Manager, Miller-Stephenson

About BatchMaster Software

BatchMaster Software is a leading provider of ERP solutions that help growing formula-based manufacturers streamline operations, reduce costs, and comply with stringent regulatory mandates. BatchMaster ERP is designed specifically for the Food, Nutraceuticals, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, and Specialty Manufacturing industries, and can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud.

Contact Us

BatchMaster Software | 9861 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618 | 949-583-1646 |  sales@eworkplace.com