Reed Manufacturing

Reed Manufacturing
Reed Manufacturing has been producing fine tools for worldwide professional trades since its founding in 1896 by Carl Reed. The company was purchased in 1902 by Reuben Wright with money he made selling water and hardware during the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Reed continues to be operated by his descendants, but Reuben Wright might not recognize the manufacturer that has grown into a leading producer of high-quality pipe tools. The company is now run by brothers Mark Wright and Scott Wright (fifth-generation), who strive to uphold the family traditions of product innovation, high-quality pipe tools, great customer service, a cutting-edge factory, and extra value to customers.

In 2013, Reed decided to replace its existing 4th Shift ERP system with a system that would support growth and allow them to be more nimble and responsive to customers and employees. After an extensive search, Reed chose the Infor SyteLine ERP system (now CloudSuite Industrial).

According to Dave Clutter, Reed’s IT Manager, the main reason behind the choice was SyteLine’s underlying technology. Clutter is able to easily enhance the application, personalize screens, and create reports—all without touching the source code, which makes upgrades significantly simpler.

Clutter took a measured approach to the implementation, keeping the project scope in check and managing expectations. Now, Reed has users who are comfortable with the system and executives who are pleased with the results.

“SyteLine has made us a more nimble business and allowed us to better compete with the large organizations in our industry.”

Scott Wright

Wright also credits Clutter with having high expectations and a strong plan from the beginning.

Reed manages all customer transactions, inventory, production, and purchasing in the system. This includes managing long lead-time items that may be partially processed by outside vendors. With a large number of machines, many of which overlap in capability, along with significant outside processing, scheduling was a challenge. Reed recently restructured how they set up work centers, machines, and resource groups on the shop floor to allow greater flexibility in scheduling. Now, machines with similar capabilities that can be run together by a single operator are better utilized. While accounting features are often overlooked when searching for a new ERP system, Reed’s financial team, led by CFO Carl Anderson, was especially pleased with SyteLine’s ability to filter, sort, and drill down into any and all data in the system, as well as its built-in integration with Excel.

The team at Reed continues to plan for the future. The next big item on their list is better automation of the returns and repairs process, where they seek greater visibility throughout the company. They also plan to explore business analysis tools and implement CRM functionality for their sales and marketing group.

Reed Manufacturing can be found online at www.reedmfgco.com