Harloff, a rapidly growing manufacturer of grease filters, industrial mounting hardware, and solar racking systems, faced significant operational hurdles as it expanded from just five employees in 2015 to 85 employees and 30 production lines. Managing orders, scheduling production, tracking inventory, and maintaining quality control became increasingly complex, and their reliance on handwritten notes and spreadsheets led to inefficiencies, delays, and miscommunications.
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The Challenge: Managing Growth Without Scaling Administrative Overhead
Before Quickbase, Harloff struggled with:
- No centralized order management system, leading to delays and miscommunication.
- Inefficient production scheduling, creating bottlenecks and last-minute changes.
- A lack of real-time inventory tracking, often resulting in material shortages.
- No formal quality control system, increasing rework and inconsistencies.
- Time-consuming, manual data entry for order processing and tracking.
Harloff’s COO Timothy Spiech, seeing the inefficiencies firsthand, set out to build a more scalable solution.
The Solution: A Custom-Built Quickbase System for End-to-End Manufacturing Management
Timothy approached his team asking for an order management system and better CMMS processes. Little did he know what he was asking for cost upwards of a quarter million dollars. Luckily, Timothy had used Quickbase at a previous company and decided to test its capabilities. Within just one week, Timothy developed an entire order management system in Quickbase. The results were immediate: streamlined workflows, automated processes, and real-time visibility into operations. Based on this success, Harloff expanded its use of Quickbase across all facets of the business.
“The data in Quickbase is used for scheduling, tracking, and managing production orders,” Timothy said.
Key Quickbase Applications at Harloff:
- Order Management: From intake to shipment, Quickbase automates order tracking, reducing manual errors and ensuring on-time deliveries.
- Production Scheduling: Quickbase links orders to production lines, dynamically adjusting schedules based on demand and capacity.
- Quality Control & Compliance: The system ensures standardized inspection processes, tracking tolerances, instruments used, and defects in real-time.
- Material Management: Quickbase monitors inventory, usage rates, and replenishment needs, preventing shortages and production halts.
Harloff uses Quickbase to automate order tracking, reducing manual errors and ensuring on-time delivery.
The Results: Increased Efficiency, Reduced Errors, and Faster Production
Since implementing Quickbase, Harloff has achieved measurable business improvements:
- Eliminated the need for six additional administrative staff, thanks to automation and real-time data integration, saving Timothy about $300,000 annually.
- Reduced order processing time by 30%, allowing faster production turnaround.
- Improved quality control, ensuring accurate tracking of inspections and reducing defects.
- Enabled Harloff to handle large volumes of orders without operational bottlenecks.
Competitive Advantage: The Power of Real-Time Manufacturing Insights
Quickbase has given Harloff a major edge over competitors by eliminating administrative lag and ensuring accurate, timely information for both internal teams and customers. The system’s customer portals provide real-time order tracking and inspection reports, improving transparency and satisfaction.
Looking Ahead
Harloff plans to further optimize its Quickbase system by integrating advanced analytics and predictive modeling. With Quickbase as a central pillar of its operations, Harloff is well-positioned to continue scaling efficiently while maintaining its commitment to quality and precision.
