ProShop ERP offers total business management in software-as-a-service for the shop floor and operations.
Paul Van Metre, co-founder of ProShop ERP, understands the pain points of running a manufacturing or machining enterprise. He observed, “One of the things I say often is that the machining business is the hardest in the world — complex, high cost of entry, low margins, lots of regulations — so hard …” But he shared that as difficult as it is, it is “so essential that we are doing good in the world,” which may be why Van Metre feels their shop software will be the corps d’elite for U.S. manufacturers in the coming years.
According to the President of Lafarge and Egge (L&E Tubing, LLC) Bryan Luttrell, being a ProShop customer of their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool has removed two to three tons of paper over the last five years. The company makes bent tube metal assemblies for commercial aircraft, medical, space, and semiconductor applications in Everett, Washington. He said that since implementing ProShop, they have increased accuracy, security, versatility, and communication in their business. “It’s advertised as a digital ecosystem, so it must be accurate, reliable, and secure.”
Regarding accuracy, Luttrell noted, “If the system is going to output a calculation, it must be accurate.” He cited document storage for quality documents and the system’s ability to prevent tampering with proper theft and security measures.
Luttrell is a fan of the product and knew Van Metre for many years before becoming a customer. He said they implemented ProShop ERP in 2020 based on consensus from their team — a big decision that took some time to commit to.
Brian Anderson, senior product solutions engineer for ProShop, has been with the company since 2017 but has used the software for 24 years. For many years, Van Metre and his business partners operated Pro CNC, a manufacturing company. Anderson said that back in 2000, when he worked for the company as a machinist, they used Excel and QuickBooks to manage everything. They used spreadsheets to organize projects; everyone had their spreadsheet no matter their role — machinists, inspectors, and others. They looked at many early software products but knew that their essential in-house work in Excel surpassed other work in the ERP space. “It was a grassroots thing to build what we needed.” He added that they earned their industry certifications and, “Somehow with excellent insight or a stroke of luck, we built the interface in a web browser — which makes it very accessible and easy to navigate and learn.” He said that ProShop was built out of necessity over 17 years.
Anderson said that running a manufacturing business “is a complex endeavor.” He feels that the benefit of using ProShop is “We provide a platform for our clients to do what they need to do, without having to do all of the stuff they aren’t necessarily in business to do.” For their clients, all machine shops, their focus is on making products and serving their customers.
Anderson added, “What doesn’t pay the bills is managing reporting, time tracking, and schedules. Our software allows them to do that and frees them up to do the daily operations — making the client and team more efficient.”
Anderson said the software runs on a browser, so clients set up computers in the factory, usually with two or three monitors to manage all facets of their work. He said they push out about three yearly updates with new features, modules, and offerings. He said most updates are included in their software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription. “We are continuing to advance the interface to be more mobile-friendly, more app-like. People expect to be able to use apps on their phones; they now expect it from any software.”
The company has grown since officially selling off Pro CNC and beginning full operation of ProShop in 2016. It now has 100 employees across the U.S., and it is virtual. The staff all work from home.
The ProShop ERP software creates efficiencies for manufacturers in:
- Estimating and quoting
- Sales and work order processes
- Visual work instructions
- Shop floor management and scheduling
- Product data management
- CMMC and cybersecurity
- Quality systems management and inspection
- Inventory control and materials management
- Job costing and financial data
- Cutting tool and fixture management
- And, human resources
The company’s mission statement is strong: “We deliver powerful manufacturing software by deeply understanding our clients’ challenges in order to meaningfully improve their business and, in turn, their communities.”
With the colossal functionality for manufacturing of the original company, Pro CNC, Van Metre said the development of business understanding and best practices came via insight from his team and their clients. He shared, “The founders and partners handled different aspects of the business, which went into the software.” He was an estimator; his partner was CFO and accountant, and they had an operations guy and a quality leader. The diverse roles of running Pro CNC influenced work order design, and drawings and CAD model management. He added that they had people purchasing, inspecting, shipping, and receiving. He said they asked, “What would make it better for them to do their jobs most effectively at the right time and right dose?” Over time, all of the planning and trial-and-error led to “What ProShop is today and what launched in 2016. One of the most important principles is connecting every aspect back to every other aspect, giving people visibility to do their jobs and make decisions; many companies don’t know how to systematize the business and connecting it all has compounding effects on cost reduction and systems,” Van Metre said.
Beyond shop organization, though, Van Metre said that for their clients, “Auditors are blown away. We can show all quality metrics, results, and traceability from the conference room; they don’t need to open up file cabinets.” He remarked that it greatly improves industry certification processes. He had one client who was so successful with their certification that they referred 125 additional clients to ProShop.
The results are in the customer stories and testimonials. The website, www.proshoperp.com demonstrates customer results:
- 64 percent increase in revenue with no added capital equipment
- 40percent increase in shop throughput with the same staff
- 3X faster quoting
- 25 percent cost savings on overhead labor costs
- reduce setup times by 50 percent
As a happy client, Luttrell said data access to all aspects of the factory is essential to him. They’ve seen a milestone in product shipments and are shipping over 1,000 unique part numbers per year, which equates to thousands of pieces and a 15 percent increase in throughput since implementation. Beyond that, he can show Boeing or Northrup Grumman query results for needed reporting. Now, they’ve just moved from Lynnwood to Everett into a larger space and are working to scale the business, with the help of ProShop, to hit $10 million in revenue.
He concluded that onboarding staff using ProShop was “fairly easy; I give it an A-.” For less tech-savvy people, the most extended training session on using the software in daily practice was about a month. “The more technical your position, the more technical it will be for you. If you are not very technical, you could have a problem. There may be four clicks to log in to a screen for a machinist or someone on the floor.” But overall, he said it is intuitive to use and highly customizable depending on what you want to get from it, whether commercial or Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and the ability to prioritize key business accounts.
Van Metre affirmed that satisfied customer results are an accumulation of improvements customers have shared. Beyond business improvements, he said, “I most enjoy talking with machine shop owners and manufacturing leaders and hearing how we make an impact on their personal lives, business lives, and the lives of their employees. I love it to death.”
