How Jax Precision Built a Connected Workflow with Paperless Parts and Infab

Background

Jacksonville Precision Manufacturing (Jax Precision) is a Florida-based precision machine shop specializing in low- to medium-volume production, prototyping, and quick-turn work. Owner Juan March started the business in 2018 with a single machine, initially taking on work from friends, Xometry, and other early customers. As the shop grew and earned ITAR registration, it began taking on a wider variety of jobs and building more strategic customer relationships.

Today, Jax Precision primarily provides CNC machining services for complex parts and assemblies, with in-house engineering and machining expertise to support design, manufacturing, assembly, and rapid prototyping. The shop has built its reputation around quality, reliability, short lead times, and strong customer service.

In the early days, Juan handled quoting with spreadsheets and email. That worked when the shop was quoting one or two parts at a time, but it became harder to manage as Jax Precision took on more customers and more complex RFQs. “As I started to grow and get more direct customers, I really needed a system to help me quote a lot of parts at once.”

In the fall of 2020, Juan became one of Paperless Parts’ earliest users. The software gave him a faster, more professional way to quote, keep track of historical pricing, and quickly requote parts when repeat work came in. In its first year on Paperless Parts, Jax Precision saw faster quote turnaround, higher quote throughput, and a 300% increase in revenue.

That early growth also set up the next phase of the business. Paperless Parts helped Jax Precision modernize quoting, but Juan did not want quoting data to stop being useful once a customer said yes. As the shop took on more work, he needed that information to carry forward into the rest of the operation.

Challenge

A few years later, Jax Precision was dealing with a different problem. Quoting had become much more efficient, but once work was won, the team needed a better way to keep track of everything happening after the quote – where parts were, what had gone to outside processing, what was waiting at finishing, what documentation was tied to each job, etc.

Additionally, as the company continued building out its quality systems and supporting AS9100 requirements, preserving documents and making them easy to retrieve became increasingly important. Juan tried a few off-the-shelf ERP systems, but found them too cumbersome and difficult to train on for the way a small to mid-sized machine shop actually operates.

Rather than force the business to work around a system that didn’t fit, Juan and long-time friend Blake Nazario-Casey decided to build an ERP of their own.

Solution

Blake has a background in computer science and software engineering, and worked with Juan to build a new ERP software called Infab around the way Jax Precision actually runs. The original goal was to create a system that could track jobs after quoting and give the team a better handle on what was happening across production, finishing, outside processing, and documentation.

From the beginning, the plan was to connect Infab directly to Paperless Parts rather than build a separate system and force the team to enter the same information twice. Blake used Paperless Parts’ open API to bring quote and order data directly into Infab, with Paperless Parts serving as the source of truth. “Version 0.1 of the app was literally just importing orders from Paperless Parts and then marking their statuses,” Blake said. “The integration with Paperless was in from day one.”

That early connection was important because it meant the work done during quoting did not stop at the quote itself. Instead, the same data could flow into the system Jax Precision was using to manage jobs, track status, and preserve records. For a smaller manufacturer, that reduces double entry, cuts down on mistakes, and gives the business a more complete picture of each job from the moment the RFQ comes in through production.

Blake said Paperless Parts’ API documentation made that process easy to get moving. “It’s very easy to just go on to the API reference online; you hit an endpoint, and you know what data you’re going to get back.”

Because the structure was so clear, the team was able to test, iterate, and build quickly. “From Juan and me talking about creating an ERP to having an ERP that could import orders from Paperless was a few weeks.”

The project was also self-driven. Blake and Juan built it independently and did not need heavy support from Paperless Parts to get it off the ground. That flexibility is part of the value of Paperless Parts: shops can connect quoting data to ERP, CRM, accounting, and other systems to build workflows that match how their business actually runs.

Jax Precision’s connected digital workflow lets Juan carve out more time to be a business owner as the business grows. Instead of needing to personally track down updates on the floor, he can now see from his desk where jobs stand, monitor progress, and respond to customers without being involved in every minute detail. “I’ve got thirteen people working here now, and I don’t even see parts sometimes,” he said. “I quote them, and then one day I see that they shipped.”

Results

Since connecting Paperless Parts and Infab, Jax Precision has created a more scalable way to run the business, with stronger operational visibility, easier access to records, and better control over the work moving through the shop.

• Supported AS9100 requirements with stronger digital traceability.
  As Jax Precision continued building out its quality systems, the connection between Paperless Parts and Infab made it easier to keep documentation tied to specific jobs and operations. That has given the team a more reliable way to retain records and retrieve them later when needed, which is especially important for a shop taking on more aerospace and defense work.
• Made quoting data more actionable after the order is won.
  Instead of stopping at the quote, the information created in Paperless Parts now carries into Infab, where it can support job tracking, documentation, and execution. That has given Jax Precision a more connected workflow and reduced the disconnect that often happens when quoting and operations live in separate systems.
• Built a more scalable workflow for a growing machine shop.
  What started as a way to solve Jax Precision’s own internal needs has become part of a more sustainable way to run the business. With Paperless Parts connected to Infab, the shop has a system that better supports growth, more complex work, and the kind of operational consistency that smaller manufacturers often struggle to maintain as they add people, customers, and process requirements.

For manufacturers with the right internal resources or technical partners, Paperless Parts gives you a platform you can build on to create workflows that fit the way your business actually operates. More information is available in the Paperless Parts API documentation.