Manufacturing · Digital Transformation · Business Process Automation
Digital Transformation Roadmap for a 300-Person Manufacturer
14 of 22 Manual Processes Eliminated
THE RESULTS
Outcomes That Changed How This Business Operates
Phase results:
- Production Scheduling: 8 weeks build → $95K/year savings → Live
- Digital QC: 6 weeks build → $120K/year savings → Live
- Maintenance Management: 10 weeks build → $165K/year savings → Live
- Year 1 Total: $380K
Staff adoption rate at 90 days: 94%. The CEO's measure of success: "Not a single complaint from the production floor after month one."
THE CHALLENGE
The Problem We Were Asked to Solve
A third-generation family-owned manufacturer with 300 employees had a core business that worked, but it was running on a patchwork of systems from different eras. Production scheduling in Excel. Customer orders via email and phone. Quality control on paper forms filed in binders. HR on a mix of paper and a 2015-era HR system. Maintenance schedules in a whiteboard.
The CEO knew they needed to modernize but had been burned twice: once by a failed ERP implementation in 2018 (project cancelled after $400,000 spent and nothing shipped), and once by a digital consulting firm that delivered a 200-page report that sat in a drawer.
Their key requirement: don't disrupt the production line. Technology changes had to be introduced carefully, with staff fully trained and confident before anything went live. They were not going to sacrifice operational continuity for digital progress.
THE SOLUTION
How We Solved It
Phase 1: Digital Audit (Weeks 1–6)
We embedded with the team for six weeks. We didn't just interview managers. We spent time on the production floor, in the dispatch office, and in the maintenance shed. We mapped 22 distinct manual or semi-digital processes, scored each for automation potential, business impact, and implementation risk.
Key finding: 14 of the 22 processes were strong automation candidates. The failed 2018 ERP project had tried to automate all of them simultaneously. That's why it failed. Our recommendation: phase it in over 18 months, starting with 3 high-impact, low-risk processes.
Phase 2: Prioritized Roadmap (Weeks 7–10)
Delivered a 24-month digital transformation roadmap with:
- 5 phases of implementation, each with defined deliverables and ROI targets
- Build/buy/integrate recommendation for each initiative
- Budget and timeline estimates per phase
- Change management plan with specific staff communication recommendations
Roadmap was presented to the board and approved in full. It was the first time any technology initiative had been approved without modification in a decade.
Phase 3: Phased Implementation (Months 3–18)
Priority Phase 1 implementations:
- Production Scheduling Tool: a web-based scheduling app replacing the Excel monster. Built in 8 weeks. Integrated with their ERP.
- Digital Quality Control Forms: tablet-based QC forms replacing paper binders. Auto-generating reports and flagging non-conformances. Built in 6 weeks.
- Maintenance Management System: digital maintenance schedules, work orders, and parts inventory. Built in 10 weeks.
Every implementation included a 3-week staff training program and a 4-week parallel run period where both old and new systems ran simultaneously.
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
What the Client Said
After two failed technology initiatives, I was genuinely skeptical. They earned trust by listening first, not selling first. The fact that they embedded with our team for six weeks before recommending anything made all the difference. Eighteen months in, this is the best investment we've made in technology in 20 years.
TECH STACK
Technologies Used
The tools we chose for this project, and why they fit the job.
Ready to Build Something Like This?
Tell us about your project. We'll tell you what it would take.
24-hour response guarantee · Your information stays private · Or email us at hello@vandeni.com