FileMaker Takes Heat Off Thermocouple Manufacturer’s Day-to-Day Operations

Quick-Quote System Gets Custom Quotes Out, Orders In Lickety-Split

In an industry where every product is a custom order, quick quoting is essential; the quicker a quote goes out, the quicker an order comes in – See how FileMaker is helping one manufacturer speed up the quoting process.

Thermocouples make the world go ’round. From hot water heaters and pizza ovens to cars and spacecraft, thermocouples are everywhere. Thermocouples are the most widely used temperature sensors in the world, utilized in industrial processes like snack-food packaging, injection-molding machines, pharmaceuticals and petro-chemical plants. Simply put, our world would not function without thermocouples – a device most people never think about.

Tommy Hopper thinks about them every day. 

As president of STI Manufacturing, Hopper oversees a well-established player in the thermocouple-manufacturing industry. Hopper’s uncle established STI Manufacturing in 1984 in Willis, Texas, and it continues today as a family business with Hopper at the helm. Besides thermocouples, STI supplies RTDs (resistance temperature detectors) and thermowells to clients around the globe, though most orders are domestic.

For years, STI managed operations with Microsoft Access, using the database to track purchase orders, quotes and sales orders. However, in the early 2000s, Hopper got frustrated with Microsoft Windows and the amount of time it took to troubleshoot issues and install service packs whenever Microsoft rolled out a new operating system. 

Hopper liked Access but wanted to shed the Windows XP workstations, so he began seeking a replacement for Access that would run on the macOS. That’s when he discovered Claris FileMaker and contracted with eXcelisys to build a custom FileMaker solution. The system went live in March 2019 and periodic fine-tuning continues to improve and adapt workflows as needed. The FileMaker system handles all of STI’s business needs from tracking inventory and purchase orders to maintaining client and vendor contacts, along with quotes, sales orders and invoices.

FileMaker Speeds up Quoting Process

The biggest improvement the new FileMaker app brought STI was speed in preparing quotes because FileMaker automates the process. “Instead of taking 15 to 20 minutes to put together a quote,” said Hopper, “I can get it out in 3 or 4 minutes.”

At STI, an efficient quoting process is essential because every product is a custom order manufactured to the specific needs of the client. The quicker a quote goes out, the quicker an order comes in. Requests are made through the STI website, which eXcelisys also had a hand in developing. To request a custom thermocouple, customers complete an online form that allows them to specify precise parameters for the product needed (see image below).

Creating quotes was a slow, one-man eXpedition before FileMaker. Because the data on labor costs associated with different builds lived only in Hopper’s head, Hopper was the only employee who could create a quote. Once launched, the FileMaker solution took the heat off Hopper by automating the process, allowing any employee to quote a product and arrive at the same eXact price.

Other features build into the custom FileMaker system:

• Pick tickets (to speed up manufacturing): FileMaker generates pick tickets for each order.
• Inventory tracking: Keeping inventory stocked is essential to operations. If STI runs out of a certain type of wire or connector, the company cannot build products. But this is never a problem because FileMaker tracks inventory and provides low-stock alerts.
• UPS shipping: STI can create and print UPS shipping labels directly from FileMaker through the UPS API.
• Unit conversions: If STI buys material by the foot but sells by the inch, FileMaker makes those conversions when producing a quote.
• Payroll: FileMaker tracks employee hours worked.

Need help eXpediting and automating customer quotes to speed up the sales process? Need some customized quoting software for your small business? Contact our solution consultants to eXamine the possibilities. Consultations are free; what are you waiting for?