United States Brass & Copper

The Company: About United States Brass & Copper

Founded in 1925, United States Brass & Copper (USBC) is a family-operated metals service center that has become a premier provider of high-quality mill products across North America. For nearly a century, USBC has distinguished itself as an industry leader by delivering excellent customer service, superior product quality, and competitive pricing. Their extensive inventory includes aluminum, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, copper, and stainless steel products.

The Situation: Outdated Systems Became a Time Consuming Burden

USBC is committed to embracing advanced technology. However, when exploring Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) providers, they found that the available solutions did not meet their specific needs for the metals industry. This limitation hindered their ability to grow and attract new customers, as their outdated software systems continued to pose significant challenges.

Over time, it became evident that the outdated systems at USBC were impeding their growth. A system originally intended for distribution had evolved into a significant burden for the entire team. Key operations such as accounting, sales, inventory, and production had become cumbersome and labor-intensive.

“Our system forced our team to create workarounds, which caused many frustrations and inefficiencies. The lack of data visibility made decision-making very challenging, holding back our business from accomplishing more,” explained Dave Kavanaugh, CEO of United States Brass and Copper.

Complex workarounds and additional paperwork were reducing efficiency and productivity, leading to problems in key areas:

• Ineffective procedures: Manual procedures and extensive paperwork led to delays and obscured visibility across all business areas, resulting in teams that collaborated but faced difficulties in serving their customers effectively.
• Labor Intensive Reporting: Manual data entry resulted in slow reporting of historical, current, and future forecasts, increasing the workload for essential production staff.
• Inefficient Invoicing: Invoices were manually prepared and sent to customers via mail, leading to avoidable delays and irregular cash flow.
• Incorrect Inventory Management: Obtaining precise, up-to-date inventory data was problematic, resulting in complications with material procurement and the utilization of leftover coil inventory.
• Inadequate MTR Tracking: USBC manually tracked metals, a process that became a frustrating obstacle in issuing material test report (MTR) certifications.
• Restricted Production Visibility: Employees were forced to sift through a labyrinth of phone calls and emails to obtain crucial delivery information, causing delays in offering prompt delivery updates.
• Holes in of Production Planning: Access to metals production planning features, including viewing various units of measure, types of metals, and unit pricing, was available, but the process was slow and inefficient.
• Covid-19 Adaption Issues: While USBC faced internal efficiency challenges, a more severe issue loomed for metals businesses like theirs: adapting to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Solution: Crowe Metals Accelerator

Recognizing the increasing burden of painful inefficiencies, Crowe understood that USBC required an ERP system tailored to the metals industry to facilitate essential change. Specifically, they needed an ERP that could be implemented predictably and promptly without expensive customizations.

The Crowe Metals Accelerator, crafted for metals companies like USBC, is based on Microsoft Dynamics 365™. The Crowe team provided a quick, proven, and prescriptive approach to implementation, aiming to revolutionize their future operations.

The Results: Streamlining Production and Time Usage

From antiquated systems to a ready-to-use ERP designed specifically for metals businesses. The following changes and benefits of implementing Crowe Metals Accelerator are as follows:

• Structured ERP System: After assessing USBC’s business requirements, Crowe conducted a detailed demonstration of the Crowe Metals Accelerator and Dynamics 365, covering its architecture, objectives, and functionalities tailored to the metals industry.
• Guidance on Switching ERP Software: To facilitate a seamless adoption of Crowe Metals Accelerator and Dynamics 365, Crowe supplied comprehensive templates and guidance on structuring and formatting data for import into the Microsoft platform.
• Experience Driven Setup: To provide the USBC team with a glimpse of their future operations, Crowe leveraged its experience and best practices to launch the new system. Handheld devices on the shop floor were used to simulate USBC’s specific business transactions within a preconfigured environment.
• Thorough Testing: A cooperative testing and feedback process facilitated a smooth transfer of ownership to USBC’s entire team, beginning with the core team and subsequently extending to the broader team. The comprehensive rehearsal outlined precise steps for migrating and aligning everything from inventory and orders to financials and general ledger balances.
• Training for End-Users: Crowe conducted end-user training, supplying user manuals and leading hands-on demonstrations of the key functionalities within Crowe Metals Accelerator and Dynamics 365.

“The Crowe team was both constructive and collaborative. They said the things we needed to hear and guided us in important decisions to make the solution successful. In addition, they took time to teach and empower us to solve problems on our own.” Recalled DJ Kavanaugh, Vice President at United States Brass and Copper.

Covid-19 Pandemic Preparedness:

Microsoft Dynamics 365, enhanced with Crowe Metals Accelerator, was implemented within a swift six-month period, going live on March 2, 2020 — just two weeks before the transition to a remote workforce due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

The pandemic posed severe challenges for metals service centers, threatening their operational continuity and growth. However, despite these obstacles, USBC, in partnership with Crowe, defied expectations and achieved remarkable growth.

Crowe deployed extra on-site staff across three locations to ensure a successful launch. These teams offered insights into operations, assisted the USBC team with real-time solutions, and identified key super-users to boost success. As strong relationships were established, the emergence of COVID-19 prompted Crowe to shift to a remote delivery model, allowing them to continue training personnel and supporting USBC’s ongoing operations.

Thanks to the cloud capabilities of Dynamics 365, a significant portion of their team could maintain operations remotely during lockdowns — a capability they previously lacked.

A Better Business:

The Crowe Metals Accelerator enables the USBC team to seamlessly access precise, up-to-date data in real time and review historical information spanning across departments and all facets of their business. The following changes were seen within 6 months of implanting a metals-specific ERP system:

• Due to transparent visibility and effective inventory control, coupled with the challenge of fluctuating metals costs, USBC has experienced a 20% surge in new customer acquisition, since October 2021.
• Cumbersome reporting delays and manual computations have been supplanted by user-friendly inquiries, effortlessly exportable to Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet software.
• The frustrating issue of invoicing delays and paper trails has been eliminated, allowing accounts to be settled promptly and efficiently, resulting in a more predictable cash flow.
• The sales team now possesses the capability to promptly access precise pricing information and generate comprehensive sales orders containing essential details such as order numbers, pricing, ownership, and delivery estimates.
• Benefiting from a precise inventory overview and an effective system for managing remnants, USBC bolstered its profits by maximizing the utilization of remnants and streamlining time-consuming processes through the forecasting of future orders.
• Metal traceability was simplified through the implementation of Crowe Metals Accelerator and Dynamics 365, facilitating the efficient creation, access, and delivery of Material Test Report (MTR) certifications to customers.
• Tracking a product from order to delivery became a seamless process for both USBC’s employees and customers. Real-time updates have replaced cumbersome communication delays.
• Tasks such as managing various measurement units, categorizing metal types in inventory, pricing by unit, and planning metals production have now become simple, efficient, and tailored specifically to the metals industry.

Through collaboration with Crowe, USBC successfully deployed Microsoft Dynamics 365 with Crowe Metals Accelerator in just six months. Consequently, armed with a cloud-based ERP tailored for the metals industry, they can now forecast demand, manage inventory, and adapt with assurance.

Amidst unpredictable supply chain challenges and constantly shifting market conditions, United States Brass & Copper is laying the groundwork for sustainable growth.