Brian’s Machine Shop Saves Time and Quotes Remotely

Manufacturing Is In The Family

At Brian’s Machine Shop, family is everything. Brian Lemoine started the business in the cellar of his house to make some extra money in his spare time. Brian’s passion and attention to detail enabled him to grow the shop very quickly, and he soon quit his day job to run the machine shop full-time. Eventually, he brought in his wife, Glenda, and his two children. The goal is to teach the children how to run the shop and take over the business, allowing Brian and Glenda to retire early. The business grew quickly, but not without some growing pains.

Brian was using a variety of spreadsheets to quote, and heavily relied on his years of experience and knowledge. While this process worked for him, he realized that the high learning curve to understand the spreadsheets made it difficult to pass the quoting responsibilities to his two children that work in the shop.

To compound on these difficulties, Brian did not have a CAD software license, which are very expensive and often cost-prohibitive. This made it difficult to view his customers’ parts and respond to RFQs. Lastly, Brian did not have an ERP system to manage all of the shop’s information, so critical information would get lost across emails, spreadsheets, and paper. Brian’s Machine Shop needed a digital infrastructure that would enable the next generation to take over the business.

Joining in 2018, Brian was an early adopter of Paperless Parts. Brian was eager to work with a technology company that could understand his small, family-owned business, and provide the service and support that he would require. As an example of such service, the Paperless Parts team noticed that Brian was using a very small computer monitor that forced him to squint and made him miss things on the screen. Seeing an opportunity to help Brian’s operational effectiveness, Paperless Parts surprised Brian with new computer monitors that enabled Brian to work more easily and use Paperless Parts to the fullest extent.

Paperless Parts has greatly improved Brian’s revenue, quote turnaround time and accuracy. Paperless Quoting has become the central source of historical information as his children quote and take on more responsibilities. The ability to offer expedite pricing has played a large role in increasing revenue. Brian was able to clearly communicate the value of his time, and quickly offset the cost of Paperless Parts fourfold in expedite revenue alone. This is revenue that would never have been realized if not for the ease with which Brian was able to communicate pricing options.

The mobile capabilities of Paperless Parts allow Brian to spend less time in the shop, while continuing to run his business remotely. Paperless Parts can fully run on any computer, phone, or tablet, allowing Brian to respond to RFQs and complete quotes from anywhere. Because of this, Brian was able to finally go on vacation – even completing quotes from a cruise ship.

With a streamlined quoting process, a modern digital infrastructure, and exceptional growth in revenue, Brian’s Machine Shop and Paperless Parts have successfully bridged the skills gap and paved the way for the next generation to succeed.