Air Filters, Incorporated
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- Infor Mongoose Facilitates Simple and Effective Modifications
- Planning Functionality Simplified Operations
- Cloud Deployment Allowed Flexibility to Work From Home
- Scalability Promotes Future Growth
About Air Filters, Incorporated
Air Filters, Inc. is a specialty filter manufacturer based in Houston, Texas. The company produces HVAC filtration, industrial ventilation, and air purification systems. Operating for over 65 years, the company holds patents for innovative filtration products and is continuously advancing its technology.
Outgrowing the Legacy System
Air Filters, Inc. was previously operating on a system designed primarily as a CRM and sales tool. The system had minimal manufacturing capabilities and was no longer supported by the vendor. While the company was able to customize some warehouse management features into the system, it had many limitations.
By 2018, Air Filters, Inc. had outgrown the legacy system. The company hired an independent selection consultant to assist in finding an ERP system that could meet its current needs and support future growth. The selection firm conducted interviews across all departments to finalize requirements. After evaluating solutions that covered accounting, inventory, sales, and manufacturing, CloudSuite Industrial was determined to be the best fit. In May 2019, Air Filters, Inc. successfully went live on CloudSuite Industrial.
Working With Decision Resources
While Air Filters, Inc. opted for a self-guided implementation, Decision Resources assisted with training and ensured the project stayed on track.
“Working with Decision Resources was great,” said Gary Travis, IT Manager at Air Filters, Inc. “They have a solid crew that covers every aspect of the product. When I needed help learning how to do some customizations, Decision Resources provided knowledge of the product in all capacities.”
Benefits of CloudSuite Industrial
Air Filters, Inc. saw many immediate benefits from its new ERP system. In particular, the built-in planning capabilities simplified operations. The CloudSuite Industrial planning functionality allows organizations to balance supply and demand, set goals, and plan for revenues, margins, and costs of items sold. Most of this functionality was not available to Air Filters, Inc. in the legacy system.
Another key benefit was the flexibility and scalability offered with the cloud. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the United States in 2020, the transition to work-from-home was seamless for Air Filters, Inc. Because the company had deployed its new ERP system in the cloud, users were able to access the system from home. The cloud is also scalable, allowing for future growth. Unlike its legacy system, Air Filters, Inc. will not outgrow CloudSuite Industrial.
Air Filters, Inc. has also found that CloudSuite Industrial is user-friendly, and department heads are well-trained in their areas of the ERP system. When a new employee is hired, the department handles staff training, with minimal IT intervention. IT support is generally only required when new ideas emerge that require custom development.
Infor Mongoose Development Platform in the Cloud
While scalability, flexibility, planning, and user experience have all been significant benefits, perhaps the most impactful feature of CloudSuite Industrial has been Mongoose. Mongoose is a development platform that enables users to quickly build and deploy custom applications with minimal coding. Included as part of the CloudSuite Industrial solution, Mongoose provides a major advantage for cloud-based users. No knowledge of source code or programming languages is required, allowing everyday users to easily develop applications to support their organization.
With Mongoose, Air Filters, Inc., could modify the system to match the flow of its operations in areas where it didn’t already. For example, customer forms were modified to add a “History” Tab that included quotes, invoices, sales orders, and other pertinent information for the sales and customer service teams. While this information was available in CloudSuite Industrial, Air Filters, Inc., customer service reps would need to toggle between forms to access all the information they needed. Mongoose allowed the company to pull all the information into one tab within the customer form for easy access. This tweak sped up interactions, leading to more satisfied customers.
Air Filters, Inc., also used Mongoose to set up custom pricing models. The company breaks down its customers into five categories: Commercial, Industrial, OEM, Distributors, and Residential. Customers are identified by type within CloudSuite Industrial. Item quotes are modeled based on these types. Air Filters, Inc., built its own models to determine average pricing margins based on product type. This speeds up the estimate process by providing automated pricing margins for the sales team. Estimates are generated and recorded in the ERP system as they are created. When an override is required, it is automatically emailed to the sales manager.
The Future
The future is bright for Air Filters, Inc. Getting its business and operations cleaned up with CloudSuite Industrial has set the company up for future growth. And there has been no better time, as the company was recently acquired by a large organization. In the near future, Air Filters, Inc., will upgrade to Version 10, the latest version of CloudSuite Industrial. The new capabilities of Version 10, coupled with the company’s streamlined processes, will set Air Filters, Inc., up for exceptional growth.
Use of Mongoose requires no knowledge of source code or programming language – allowing everyday users to quickly and easily develop applications to support their organization.
