Dow-Key Microwave saves $1 million with Made2Manage ERP
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Made2Manage ERP
- Quality for Aptean by uniPoint
- Made2Manage Shop Floor Manager
Tech Stack
- ERP System
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Customer Satisfaction
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Aerospace
- Electronics
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
- Predictive Quality Analytics
Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Dow-Key Microwave Corporation is the world’s largest manufacturer of electromechanical switches for radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications. Founded in 1945, it is the oldest continuously operating RF/microwave switch manufacturer in the United States. The company is an operating company within Ceramic & Microwave Products, a subsidiary of multi-billion dollar Dover Corp. Dow-Key operates one plant in Ventura, California and is a division of Dover Corp. The company operates in the aerospace and defense industry, specifically in the electrical equipment sector.
The Challenge
Dow-Key Microwave Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of electromechanical switches for radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications, was struggling with its existing ERP system. The company had implemented Made2Manage ERP in 1996 but failed to take advantage of the full functionality within the system, leading to a lack of confidence in the system and a proliferation of spreadsheets, databases, and sticky notes. Employees would come to meetings, each with his own spreadsheet, and spend the meeting time trying to decide whose information was correct. Reporting requirements and audits by government customers and the imperatives of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance placed additional burdens on a company awash in often conflicting data but starved for real, reliable information.
The Solution
After evaluating a project to replace its existing Made2Manage ERP system, Dow-Key decided that the one they already had was a better fit than the alternatives available and could be revived to deliver the results the company needed. The company worked with users to improve the input, and then helped them build trust in the resulting information. At some point, trust was built, and the spreadsheets and separate databases began to disappear. Now, Made2Manage ERP is the Dow-Key system of record, and employees no longer waste valuable time trying to figure out what information is correct. There is one source of information— everyone contributes and everyone benefits. The company also implemented Made2Manage Shop Floor Manager (SFM), Aptean’s shop floor execution system, which contributed to Dover’s “green” corporate goals by eliminating a lot of excess paperwork in the office.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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