Titanium Industries Implements ERP System for Manufacturing Network

Titanium Industries Inc. is implenting an enterprise resource planning system called Stratix by he Invera Corp. The system is designed to link all of its locations—part of a strategic integration project that’s now taking place. Invex offers a full suite of interactive functions for an integrated metal service center and its customers.

In recent years, the Rockaway, N.J.-based company has reported rapid growth with 14 operations in North America, Asia, Latin America, India and Europe—the most recent being its Shanghai, China, site, which opened in January.

“Our goal is to provide industry-leading, customer-centric systems to our global partners as we continue to expand both our domestic and international market presence,” said
Brett Paddock, president and CEO. “This project is another example of Titanium Industries commitment to exceed our customers increasing quality and service expectations.”

The ERP system will provide Titanium’s clients a consistent platform for accessing and generating critical documents on a 24/7 basis, officials said. Customers will have window to track orders, monitor supply chain information and provide a history of previous transactions. For Ti Industries, it will enable the company to streamline its operations, track inventory levels at its various facilities to accommodate customer needs, and provide a consistent, familiar “store front” for clients around the globe.

According to information from Invera, shipment information and test certificates can be viewed online with Invex once an order leaves the service center. This information allows customers, outside sales reps and customer service staff to access their requests at their own convenience.  The program employs a role-based access and security to guard customer information. Ti Industries’ Stratix currenly operates in English and French; going forward, the company intends to bring other languages into the system to accommodate it other operations.

Bob Valerie, Titabium Industries’ project manager and the point person for the project said the ERP system rollout began two years ago and in the future will provide this firm’s customers with online information for order status, inventory management, certification management, multi-step production, delivery and logistics planning, invoicing and financials.
 
“(The ERP implementation) is a big deal as it ties us together globally,” Valerie explained. In essence, he said the ERP system’s most valuable capability is customer relationship management, offering a comfort level for doing business online or through personal contact. “This has been a work in progress for a number of years,” Valerie said. “The operating system that we migrated from was becoming dated and was not readily functional for our international locations.

“We’re a service center,” Valerie continued. “The ERP system will give our customers consistency and convenience when doing business with us.” He compared it to the inherent marketing value of the brand recognition associated with major international chains, where loyal customers have an expectation of service, product quality and a consistent, recognizable menu of offerings.

Mary Moynihan-Downes, Ti Industries’ advertising manager, said the ERP system gives customers the ability to generate documents such as releases, invoices, shipping manifests, certifications, engineering specifications and industry compliance forms. It also offers assurance as to when an order will ship and when it will arrive. “This is huge,” she said. “It gives customers the accessibility to plan better. If they’re working late or from another time zone, they have the ability to go into our system and view the status of existing orders, or look at their inventory history with us.”

Titanium Industries is a global manufacturing distributor of titanium, nickel-based products and other high-performance metals. Founded in 1972, the company has 14 facilities around the world serving the aerospace, medical and general industrial markets.The company provides a wide range of value-added services including grinding; laser, torch, saw and water-jet cutting; and milling. In addition, Ti Industries can subcontract a variety of metal fabrication operations.