New SAF Enterprise ERP system raises the bar for customer service

SAF Enterprise is designed to give SAF a strategic advantage by streamlining the company’s operations for aluminum distribution, anodizing, paint, engineered architectural products, and custom metal fabrication services.

Manufacturing flexibility afforded by SAF Enterprise enables more efficient capital and personnel management nationwide. SAF Enterprise ERP integration begins from the first keystrokes on a quote through final invoice with no re-keyboarding of customer or project information. 

In development for three years, SAF’s completely refactored ERP system is based on the latest Microsoft SQL Server tools. SAF Enterprise integrates resource control for inventory, scheduling, both shop and product orders, in addition to architectural product development. The result for customers is superior service with fast and reliable product delivery.

While much of the functioning of the SAF Enterprise system happens behind the curtain, customers will benefit from more efficient scheduling. Depending on individual customer requirements, SAF can more rapidly shift production efforts from one product to another and dramatically reduce product concept-to-production timing.

An important customer portal into SAF Enterprise is the SAF Aluminum Extrusions & Sheet store (https://www.saf.com/aluminum-quote-mgr.php), where aluminum buyers will experience more intimate, detailed interactions with order acknowledgments, packing tickets, invoices, and more.

For custom architectural building product customers, SAF Enterprise allows SAF to bring the more robust and reliable resources of a larger manufacturer to even complex projects. Historically, managing the intricacies of custom metal fabrication and finishing has bound customers to various local metal shop resources.

SAF Enterprise can process detailed orders with higher-level service from a single SAF source for custom metal fabricating, anodizing and painting operations on a national scale.

An early adopter of IT solutions for ERP, SAF employed in-house programming expertise as early as 1980 with a Unix-based ERP system to record and process aluminum extrusions and sheet orders. Since then, SAF IT has been integrated into operations for fabricating, finishing and aluminum distribution.

“A strategic emphasis on state-of-the-art technology for improving customer service has proven a competitive advantage for us, putting SAF 10 – 20 years ahead of its competitors,” states Penn McClatchy, SAF Co-SEO, “SAF Enterprise continues the tradition.”