Nova Dry Kiln, LLC

In 2021, Shoptech Systems and its ERP products were acquired by ECi Software Solutions. E2 Shop System was restructured and renamed JobBOSS². Please refer to the JobBOSS² listing page for up to date information.

The Company: About Nova Dry Kiln, LLC

While you may not know it, the kiln industry plays a vital role in everyday life. Everywhere you look, there is wood. There are wooden furniture pieces, wooden floors, and wooden homes. However, before you see any of these items, all of this wood must be dried in a kiln to become useable. That’s where Jack Meredith steps on the scene. 

Meredith owns Nova Dry Kiln, LLC, a hidden gem down in Louisville, Kentucky. Nova Dry Kiln makes dry kilns ranging from small to large in size, and they sell their products globally. Competing in the global market is no easy task, so the right ERP system was a necessity for Meredith and his company. ​“We needed to get a hold of our costs,” said Meredith.

The Situation: Security Risk

Nova Dry Kiln bought the E2 Shop System back in 2010, which they used to enter orders, create production pieces, calculate costs, and track inventory. While the E2 Pro version was running well for them, they saw an opportunity within the new web-based product, SHOP. They were interested in the ability to access their system anywhere through the internet, as well as the constant updates and backups provided through Shoptech hosting the data through Rackspace.

However, like many other company owners, Meredith had to grapple with the idea of letting his data go to a separate location. ​“You don’t have to go very far before you read something about or hear something about security,” said Meredith. ​“But we also recognize that this is the trend and that web-based applications are the future.” Meredith was comforted by his operations manager, Kevin Mudd, who previously worked in IT for a different company. Mudd was comfortable with the security provided by Rackspace, and eventually, Meredith came to the conclusion that hosting the data on-premise had the same level of risk associated with it. 

The Solution: E2 Shop System ERP

Once the initial fears were quelled, Nova Dry Kiln upgraded to the SHOP program and has seen many benefits in these first initial months. Meredith is the primary salesman for Nova Dry Kiln, and he spends a great deal of his time on the road. The ability to remote in and see what’s happening in manufacturing is important information for him while he’s on the road. ​“Remoting in using the web-based product is a lot easier than having to try to remote into the old server-based product. So that was definitely a step in the right direction,” said Meredith. 

The Results: E2 Shop System ERP Implementation Benefits

In addition to the benefit of remote access, Nova Dry Kiln also benefits from the speed and look of E2 SHOP. They speak highly of the clean interface, easy access to data, and familiarity with the on-premise version. Furthermore, design engineer Michael Kley is very pleased with the elimination of the 400 part limit, which now allows him to enter all the parts for one kiln on one order. SHOP has allowed Nova Dry Kiln to operate in a more efficient manner than the previous on-premise product, and they are excited to stay ahead of the technological curve with E2.