Mesa, AZ-based Jerit Automation is a longtime leader in custom automation. In response to customer demands, Jerit planned to expand both their facilities and solution scope. To grow sustainably, Jerit sought an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that would help them replace spreadsheet-based systems and scale while gaining efficiencies in engineering revision updates, purchasing and manufacturing, project management, and inventory visibility.
After evaluating multiple software solutions, Jerit chose COUNTERPART to streamline project delivery, improve procurement accuracy, and free up engineers to focus more on design and less on manual data entry.
According to Founder and President Jerry Terlaan, adopting COUNTERPART was “a significant milestone, on par with moving from 2D to 3D modeling with SOLIDWORKS.” Today, Jerit delivers industry-leading solutions with accuracy and cost insight across the design, procurement, and build processes.
Today, Jerit delivers industry-leading solutions with accuracy and cost insight across the design, procurement, and build processes.
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, Jerit Automation designs and manufactures custom automated machinery and assembly systems. Jerit serves a range of industries, from automotive and electronics to highly-regulated medical device manufacturing, which demands precision and in-depth knowledge of compliance standards.
While the company started small, they’ve steadily grown their capabilities and footprint to serve customers across North America and Internationally.
Jerit specializes in managing projects end-to-end and delivering turnkey solutions, whether it’s an entirely new build, a retrofit, or a specific end-of-arm tooling need. This model and their reputation for quality have positioned them as a trusted partner for manufacturers seeking robust, custom-built automation systems.
Jerit planned to grow by offering larger and more sophisticated solutions. This growth would allow them to expand to a new facility and serve larger clients across a broader range of industries. However, building more complex solutions that are each uniquely designed-to-order (with virtually no repeated projects) also meant handling increased numbers and varieties of parts, additional dependencies, and continued revisions across longer time frames.
Their existing processes relied on custom spreadsheets to track project statuses, manage BOMs, and handle procurement.
While functional, these manual processes made it difficult to quickly and accurately answer business-critical questions like:
Jerit searched for an ERP software solution that could provide centralized, accurate, and always up-to-date answers to these questions while supporting the unique demands of fully-custom machine delivery.
Like many Engineer-to-Order (ETO) companies, Jerit recognized that the flow from engineering to procurement and all downstream processes required manual effort and lacked the visibility needed for quick, efficient information transfer with up-to-date design data. Additionally, Jerit wanted an ERP software that could stay synced with their CAD (e.g., SOLIDWORKS) models.
Static BOMs were manually transferred into multiple spreadsheets for procurement and project management processes. Later revision changes required manual entries in all spreadsheets and ongoing coordination for updates.
Engineering staff spent time on manual data transfer and checks. They were also involved in every aspect of months-long projects to ensure continuity and accuracy.
Manual data entry and updates had the potential to cause issues like wrong parts, missing parts, or duplicate purchases. It was also hard to manage long lead time items as customer requirements continually changed.
Assembly efforts aren’t optimized as employees move from assembly to assembly and job to job looking for parts, confirming status, etc.
Limited ability to monitor or track inventory in real-time meant employees had to make individual trips to the shop floor to check part or component statuses/availability.
Jerit saw the right ERP as a way to help streamline their growth as they scaled beyond spreadsheet-based processes. After learning about COUNTERPART, Jerit was keen to try a solution that could holistically unify their processes and cut out manual tasks.
Through a rigorous demo process using real production data, Jerit saw how COUNTERPART combined proprietary CAD integrations, detailed manufacturing alignment, and total procurement visibility to support custom solution delivery.
The decision to implement COUNTERPART was based on its patented, industry-leading ability to eliminate time-consuming manual processes, reduce error rates, and create seamless workflows between engineering and procurement – sharpening Jerit’s competitive edge in delivery speed and accuracy. Additionally, COUNTERPART offered ease of setup and flexibility to accommodate their unique needs.
“Two things have revolutionized our business, COUNTERPART is one of them.” – Jerry Terlaan, Co-Founder & President at Jerit Automation
COUNTERPART helped Jerit improve their delivery process with a quick and seamless transfer from engineering to production-ready BOMs. Better procurement practices have also reduced errors and delays while preserving Jerit’s reputation for exceptional quality and reliability.
“The spreadsheet system was awful,” said DJ, a Senior Engineer at Jerit who started 4 years before COUNTERPART adoption. “We went from spending a full day managing 200 parts to doing the same work in 15 minutes.”
COUNTERPART’s proprietary CAD integration with SOLIDWORKS instantly creates production-ready BOMs, plus designs can be easily kept up-to-date through bi-directional syncing.
All team members - from engineering to assembly - have real time access to accurate design data no matter what future revisions changes occur.
Significant cost savings on labor with no time spent updating multiple systems of record.
COUNTERPART eliminates 95% of manual data entry required to create BOMs. COUNTERPART also serves as a central system of record, making multiple spreadsheets or tracking processes obsolete.
With most manual data transfer eliminated and a shared system of record, engineering teams have more capacity for new project work.
Reallocated engineering capacity from non-value added work drives growth through increased billings and new client engagements.
Streamlined requests for quotes (RFQs) and purchase order processing provides granular levels of detail and tracking capabilities.
Removed the possibility of human mistakes while providing immediate insight into part statuses, including on long lead-time items.
Improved project margins due to less order errors, project delays, and unnecessary time spent tracking down changes.
COUNTERPART helps internal manufacturing align their work with a prioritized list of processes.
Proper work sequencing prevents inefficient project switching or later rework due to uncommunicated changes.
Projects are delivered efficiently, cost-effectively, and on time.
COUNTERPART tracks the status, location, and kit completion of sub-assemblies for every job in real time.
Streamlined workflows and prioritization create more efficient and productive assembly.
A substantial reduction in assembly time by eliminating efforts to identify status, track parts, etc.
Inventory items can be instantly searched, tracked, and located (i.e., pick location) using intuitive, clickable images from the CAD file.
Shared visibility into precise inventory levels and allocations without manually checking and updating levels.
Real-time inventory insight keeps projects on time while optimizing levels, ensuring traceability, and leveraging economies of scale.
Jerit’s success with COUNTERPART was based on 4 key factors:
As an additional benefit, COUNTERPART has improved daily work experience for the engineering team, who can now focus on more fulfilling and valuable work. In fact, this has helped retain key engineering talent as team members grow in their careers.
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