Sun Paper Company needed to scale operations as it grew and added a second location. Quickbase gave the company the ability to design and create custom applications to support its processes across multiple teams and technologies. The flexibility of Quickbase has led to tremendous cost savings, as many different applications can be built from the same platform.
Challenge
- Increased volume and growth necessitated more streamlined logistics
- Time-consuming spreadsheets and manual processes were slowing business operations
Solution
- Quickbase customization platform enables logistics to manage growth easily
- Task & process automation, custom dashboards, and alerts drive enterprise-wide productivity
- New apps are quickly developed and add new functionality
Benefits
- Keep everyone in the loop for fast and synchronized business and manufacturing operations
- Greater workforce visibility; automated tracking/alerts for attendance, reviews, safety gear, etc.
- Fast visitor check-ins, ID badge creation, and departure reports with automated Guest Log app
Finding the Right Platform
A family-owned and operated paper products manufacturer headquartered in Miami, Sun Paper Company produces toilet paper, facial tissue, paper towels, and napkins for national retailers. The company specializes in sustainable, green products set apart by high quality and innovation.
As Sun Paper grew, so did the pressure on its existing logistics processes. After opening a new manufacturing facility in South Carolina, Sun Paper realized the need to improve the way it operated.
We were manually entering shipping orders using Excel sheets and faxing them to our carriers; and we used Excel to manage our carriers, freight rates, and schedules. To grow unimpeded, we needed an easier, less time-consuming way to handle shipping and receiving.
The Benefits of Process Efficiency
Quickbase gave Sun Paper a flexible platform to customize core processes as needed. Salgado was able to quickly model new processes and automations in Quickbase much faster than building a hard-coded solution from scratch or adding lines of code to a point solution.
I wear many hats and time is precious, so I really value the app building simplicity of Quickbase. It allows you to replace Excel with a robust, functional database without breaking the bank. And you don’t have to be a professional coder to quickly create the app a user might need.
Today, shipping orders automatically include data synched from the company’s ERP system. Freight management and scheduling—including finding the best freight rates—are fast and easy because the team has all pertinent information available on interactive, role-based dashboards. Alerts and notifications directed to the appropriate user help keep all processes on track.
Salgado then expanded the company’s use of Quickbase to help solve problems in areas such as production, HR, project management, and even the front desk. By using his experience developing the logistics app, he was able to iterate fast and help his company gain even more value from the platform.
“When people see that kind of responsiveness from management, it improves company morale,” says Salgado. Ideas and suggestions from different departments are added to existing apps, constantly improving functionality.
Scaling Across the Organization
Employees throughout Sun Paper Company now rely on Salgado’s Quickbase apps to simplify their work days and get more done. In addition to streamlining all aspects of shipping and receiving, Quickbase apps in production help both management and staff easily share production plans and calendars, track performance, view material requirements, schedule machine maintenance, and more.
Project managers, as well as those on the floor using mobile devices, can see the production schedule and plan for what they need to produce next. Visual reports show, for example, how much tonnage is required for production today, tomorrow, or this week. At the docks, it’s easy to check drivers in and oversee pickups and deliveries. Our offices in Miami can see this activity live and react in real time. Quickbase helps us close the gap and keep things moving by connecting us with live data from the office, plant, and warehouse.
In HR, Quickbase has automated and improved visibility and provided action alerts across everything from onboarding checklists to evaluations to assigning safety gear. Salgado even created a Guest Log app for the front desk that replaces a manual log book that made it hard to keep track of arrivals and departures. Quickbase streamlines sign in, especially for repeat visitors, and automatically prints out a badge with arrival time. The app also records the purpose of the visit and who they’ll be meeting with. The dashboard displays who is onsite and who has signed out.
Quickbase is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses who wish to limit their IT budget, but still implement cutting-edge technology to improve workflow and grow and adapt quickly. With Quickbase we’re empowered to produce more, ship more, and supply a larger customer base—and that’s great for business.
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