MetalMaster ERP

Advanced ERP System for Leading Metal Building Manufacturer

Short summary

Client: The metal building manufacturing company.

Need: To implement an all-in-one solution to streamline business operations and set up an efficient workflow for distributing and installing manufactured metal products.

Challenge: The client looked for exceptional software to support the already existing business processes, enhancing them with the latest technology.

Solution: The development team focused on creating a custom ERP solution with extra functionality to deliver dynamic experiences while adopting more flexible approaches.

Impact: Starting ERP development from scratch, Existek’s team had the opportunity to deliver business-specific functionality and cover the needs of other involved parties. Besides the ERP system, developers created the integrated Unity app and built-in portals for customers and dealers.

Location

Technologies

Node.js

Angular

Unity

MySQL

Team size

10 specialists

Duration

24 months

Core features

Development and testing

Project summary

What’s the solution for?

The development team focused on creating an integrated and efficient platform to improve the operational workflow and business processes. Our client, the manufacturing company of metal garages, carports, barns, and other buildings, looked for advanced software to cover the growing needs and adopt new technologies for simplifying daily operations.

ERP system

With comprehensive ERP software, the client streamlines all the business-related processes, from distributing manufactured products to successfully fulfilling orders. The main requirement was connecting and integrating business operations under the unified tech solution.

Integrated Unity app

As for enhanced user experiences, the team drew special attention to dynamic and interactive components. The great solution was to create the Unity application to build realistic experiences. Customers, as well as the company’s staff, have the ability to visualize the data, design buildings, and make cost estimations.

Core features

Building and material catalogue

When creating the ERP platform for the metal building manufacturer, it was essential to include product catalogs as part of the functionality to facilitate efficient management of materials, order processing, purchasing processes, etc. It dramatically helps deal with a wide range of products, especially for complex order offerings.

3D estimator & garage builder

The 3D garage builder helps accurately place virtual building objects in 3D space, ensuring they appear realistic and align appropriately with the physical environment. Besides, this advanced functionality is integrated with the comprehensive pricing engine to estimate the total at once.

Pricing engine

That’s a complex feature worth special consideration as it performs building cost estimations and makes detailed calculations. The challenging part is that every order completely differs, and the system has to make calculations based on the chosen building options, materials, sizes, materials, delivery and installation fees, etc.

Order management

Covering the growing business needs, the client looked for efficient tools to handle higher order volumes and streamline the operational workflows. This ERP module entails the entire process from the first contact with the potential customer to the final order processing.

User management

This functionality supports better communication between departments, encourages stronger relationships with the customers, enables personalized user experiences, collects and analyzes user data and feedback, etc.

Dealer management

The continuous adaptation and evolution of dealer management practices simplify staff tasks and improve performance over time. In addition to the ERP system module, the development team presented a dealer portal to form orders, track processing, make informed decisions, etc.

Installer management

The ERP platform also provides a separate functionality for workforce planning and management. Providing building installation services, the business needed additional tools to optimize resource allocation, enable effective workforce planning, improve performance, etc.

Advanced integrations

In order to enhance platform functionality and provide a comprehensive solution for managing different aspects of a business, the team has included a number of specific integrations. For example, Mapbox to draw the real-time updating dealer map or payment integrations to offer various payment methods for the convenience of the customers.

Project objective

The client sought an advanced unified solution to optimize business processes, improve efficiency, enhance decision-making, ensure data integrity, and support organizational growth and competitiveness.

Target market

The ERP platform targets the needs of all parties involved, including customers, dealers, installers, business partners, administrators, etc. Every user group is provided with a specific solution or a chosen set of features to cover their needs.

Challenges

Efficient management tools
Smooth integrations
Complex pricing engine
Dynamic and interactive customer experience

Development and testing

Technology choice

The well-suited tech stack can enhance productivity, streamline processes, enable seamless integration with other systems, and provide a solid foundation for future growth and innovation. We've agreed on the following technologies after carefully considering project requirements and market tendencies.

Backend

Node.js

MySQL

64.6%

admired by devs that work with Node.js

among top databases due to Stack Overflow

Frontend

Angular

88.8k

GitHub stars

19.9%

more used by professional devs

Integrated Unity app

Unity

17+

platforms run Unity solutions

230k

Unity developers

Technologies also used by

Team composition

The assigned team aimed to collect expertise from all the related areas and share first-hand experience with our client. Engaging other required specialists besides developers was essential when creating the project from scratch. Existek’s team has been involved in every development stage and completed a wide range of tasks, including requirements analysis, design, software architecture, testing, etc.

Senior project manager

Artem

Senior business analyst

Darya