TrafFix Devices, Inc.

The Company: About TrafFix Devices, Inc.

Established in 1986, TrafFix Devices manufactures traffic control devices and crash attenuation products. The company’s products are designed and engineered to meet the highway requirements of countries all over the world. This requires engineering excellence and a clear understanding of the performance requirements in each of the countries where it operates. It is a major player in the attenuation space, with major market share.

The Situation: Digital Transformation

TrafFix initially implemented SYSPRO in 2014. The company had outgrown its existing systems and needed a fully-integrated ERP solution to support its growth as well as short- and long-term objectives. The recent upgrade to SYSPRO 8 was an integral part of the digital transformation of the business.

The Solution: SYSPRO ERP

As part of its digital transformation journey, TrafFix recently upgraded from SYSPRO 7 to SYSPRO 8. With this fully-integrated system, it has a single source of the truth that is trusted by the organization and used to make informed decisions across all levels.

The Results: SYSPRO ERP Implementation Benefits

The main driving force behind TrafFix’s decision to embark on a digital transformation journey was the desire to be better as an organization across the board. The SYSPRO team maximized TrafFix’s success, guiding its transformation journey to ensure the objectives were met and TrafFix has completely digitally transformed its operations across all aspects of the business.

Process Review is a Key to Success

TrafFix conducted a full business process review before implementing SYSPRO 7. ​“I firmly believe it to be a necessary step,” Conradie says. ​“It’s an excellent way of getting people in alignment so that we’re all on the same page, and definitely helped us obtain buy-in from the staff.”

Before moving over to SYSPRO 8, TrafFix installed a test server to mitigate risk. System champions in various departments verified that everything was working correctly on SYSPRO 8. The company also conducted extensive due diligence and change management ahead of time to ensure employees were prepared and ready for the change.

According to Conradie, the upgrade was almost a non-event. ​“We were up and running without any issues a week after the upgrade. From a technology perspective, the upgrade has improved our backup methodology and opened the door to use the web-based browser Avanti interface.”

SYSPRO as a Digital Transformation Toolbox

From the outset, the TrafFix management team viewed ERP as a toolbox to assist in achieving its digital transformation objectives. In addition to having a single source of the truth, it has moved towards a digitized warehouse where every activity from picking to packaging, shipping, cycle counting, and manufacturing is
automated. As a result, operations are completely transparent, giving decision-makers valuable insight into possibilities for growth and improvement.

The TrafFix/SYSPRO team implemented various proactive notifications which provide bite-sized chunks of information exactly when they are needed. Such as warnings for possible duplicate orders, possible errors in order entry, and changes in lead times. ​“Self-generating lead times provide us with accurate Available to
Promise and Capable to Promise data so that we can keep our staff and customers informed of any anticipated changes. Having this information at our fingertips has improved customer delivery and enabled us to make informed decisions,” Conradie says.

And, while TrafFix has doubled its topline revenue and transaction volumes, there has been no need to increase its headcount accordingly.

Reaping the Value of Experience

Conradie says SYSPRO maximized the success of TrafFix’s digital transformation efforts. ​“We don’t do implementations all that much, but SYSPRO does them all the time, so they know what works and what doesn’t,” he says.

One example is SYSPRO’s recommendation that TrafFix move from an open pricing structure to a system-managed pricing structure. The strategic goal was to achieve more accurate sales orders. ​“Initially it was a leap of faith, but now our orders are far more reliable and accurate,” Conradie says. ​“Additionally, were accustomed to standard costing and managing variance accounts, but now that we have the checks and balances in place to obtain accurate real-time average costing, we are realizing the gains of that guidance.”

In some regards, it was about fully utilizing SYSPRO. ​“We weren’t necessarily ready to use everything in SYSPRO from an organizational point of view. As we reached a point where we had a comfort level or were organizationally ready, we started using various modules and features to their full extent.”

The Journey Continues

The future for TrafFix and its use of ERP is exciting. The company has already implemented fully automated robot arms that take care of jobs that could be dangerous for employees and carry out those tasks in a reputable and scalable manner. A future goal is to integrate those machines directly into SYSPRO
so that operators don’t have to post transactions. Instead, the machines will communicate and post transactions as products are manufactured, to fully automate each loop. ​“ERP is a marathon, not a race. It’s better to keep improving continuously than to sprint and burn out. The SYSPRO we had on day one is not the same SYSPRO we have today. We’ve made vast improvements and will continue to do so moving forward,” Conradie says.