Symetri

Sovelia Vault automates Vault-to-ERP data input, saving hours per design project for BGB Innovation

BGB Innovation

Find out how BGB Innovation saved hours of admin and now delivers their engineering work faster and more reliably thanks to smoother, error‑free information flow.

Challenge: Eliminate manual data input to avoid time-consuming errors 

Teething problems require deep diagnosis                                                                                                  Issues came to light for BGB when there was a company-wide strategy to streamline efficiencies. The search began for software systems that would enhance cross-departmental collaboration, while helping to drive paper-based systems and manual processes out of the company’s workflows.  

As part of this commitment to innovation, BGB replaced an ageing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)  system with a solution that offered greater efficiencies and more streamlining. In terms of the ERP itself, it was a success. Everything looked ready to go. Then a side effect became apparent, one which had a negative impact on workflows, and daily progress. It all centered on the inputting of data to the ERP system, arising from the communications breakdown between BGB’s existing Vault and the new ERP software.  

There’s no substitute for automation 
Senior management teams at BGB felt there were too many information silos in play, placing hurdles in front of the smooth flow of data through the business, in a standardised and consistent way; the essence of automation. . This is where it fell at the first hurdle, relating to the connection between the new system and BGB’s existing vault.  

The two solutions simply could not talk to each other. The result of this was a return to manual input, which had not been an issue with the previous ERP solution.   

BGB has worked with Symetri for nearly 15 years. Symetri had previouslys helped BGB to integrate systems between its UK and US locations. The project had involved large scale data migration to move all data into one shared vault, supporting cross-team collaboration for BGB’s transatlantic engineering projects, by enabling teams in the U.S., and the UK to work together as one team (see the story here).  

Ensuring two systems function as one  
Fast forward to present day, and BGB asked Symetri to recommend how to bring the Vault-to-ERP data flow in line with the standardisation and consistency running through the rest of the company’s systems and processes.  

Describing the challenge, Stephen Wright, from the BGB design engineering team says: 

“Inputting from spreadsheets was causing frustration and wasting time. We needed a way of more tightly integrating our systems,  the way in which we create parts for the BOM. The frustration in the team was amplified by the concerns we were getting from customers about missed lead times.”
With BGB’s previous ERP system, this wasn’t an issue. In just five clicks, all relevant BOM details could be entered, allowing the designer to move on confidently without needing to go back and double-check. 

The issue wasn’t the system itself but how it was configured—the user experience and the missing prompts needed to ensure consistency across users. It came down to making sure BGB’s Vault and ERP were aligned and speaking the same language. 

Solution: Putting the ‘flow’ in workflows 

Take nothing for granted | The Design Process Review 
To understand the full extent of the challenges BGB was facing, and create the best path forwards, Symetri recommended a Design Process Review (DPR). The DPR goal was to highlight current and potential process and data-exchange stumbling blocks. 

The Symetri team analysed existing data and interviewed key designers to identify desired outcomes. Covering file creation, types and properties through project lifecycle, the exhaustive review stripped processes to their fundamentals and produced step-by-step recommendations to align software logic and maximise automation.

“When we introduced a new ERP system, we hadn’t expected to bring in fresh problems, but that’s what happened. We worked round it for six months, but every aspect of inputting data to the ERP system became a pain point. Then Symetri introduced us to Sovelia Vault. Almost at a stroke, their recommended solution resolved the issues at the core of the background systems. Now the workflows flow, to everybody’s satisfaction.” 

Outcomes: Two to three hours of data inputting reduced to a few clicks of the mouse 

Supporting designers | Accelerating lead times | Increasing customer satisfaction 
The detailed ‘diagnosis’ of existing configurations within Autodesk Vault, compared to those within the ERP system, led to Symetri’s recommendation of the adoption of Sovelia Vault. This proprietary software, developed by Symetri, enabled BGB to bring in a ‘one-platform’ approach to the handling of data. It does away with any need for manual Excel spreadsheets, a practice which BGB had discovered was adding 2-3 hours on average to each design project. 

At every stage, Sovelia Vault keeps users on track by enforcing mandatory fields and guiding them through the process. Each interaction now moves the project forward, rather than requiring users to retrace steps as before. Previously, designers often had to rely on non-digital notes and enter details inconsistently, which created the original problems. With Sovelia Vault, that inconsistency ends. 

Consistency is now a given. Confidence in the data and the system is now enjoyed across the business. No more margin for getting it wrong, no longer any scope at all for manual error.    

“Sovelia has transformed the key underpinning part of our design processes. A few clicks of the mouse and the data is in, the project progresses,” says Stephen. “It gives the design team back the time they’d had to spend on basically a support task – a fundamental one, but not one that drives innovation. Now designers can focus on doing precisely that." 

Challenges

  • Manual inputting errors due to lack of integration between new ERP system and existing Vault 

  • Lack of coherent data resulting from reliance on spreadsheets for source data 

  • Lost project time as designers had to work on data tasks at each stage of a design project 

  • Knock-on effect of delays in customer delivery dates, and consequent log jams across the project portfolio 

  • Frustration among designers 

Solutions

  • Sovelia Vault has automated BGB’s processes around its Autodesk Vault, ensuring standardisation of data input, and cohesion within and between projects and departments 

  • Symetri’s Design Process Review (DPR) tracked problems back to source, clarifying how data had traditionally flowed through the design team, and how BGB currently worked with Autodesk Vault 

  • Development of Sovelia BOM export functionality for item master export, configuration, and compatibility with the ERP system 

  • Customisation of BGB’s project creation process, enhancing the input of property information and how it is treated at project start, to ensure continuity, and reliability end-to-end  

Benefits

  • 100% efficiency reinjected into the data flow for every project; agreed delivery schedules now met without fail 

  • Marked improvements in productivity levels 

  • Errors due to manual input now eliminated 

  • Shorter design times, reduced costs per project 

  • Immediate up-tick, not just from designers and users whose workflows pivot on the BOM, but also from senior management. 

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