Case study · Manufacturing
How SBA Earthmoving Attachments saved 44 hours every week through automation
How we connected manufacturing systems, automated purchase order processing and gave customers real-time visibility of inventory and orders.
Industry: ManufacturingSystems: ECi M1 ERP, Microsoft Power Platform (Power Automate, Power Pages / portal)
44 hrs
Saved every week
2,288 hrs
Saved per year
Annualised at 52 weeks.
~200
Purchase orders processed per week
Self-service
Customer portal for inventory and orders
Executive summary
Connecting systems, people and customers.
Many manufacturers have significant operational inefficiencies between their existing business systems, people and customers. SBA Earthmoving Attachments faced this exact challenge. We connected the processes using the Microsoft Power Platform and integrated the solution with their existing ECi M1 ERP.
Two connected initiatives:
Automated purchase orders
Reduce manual order entry and move customer orders into M1 faster.
Customer self-service portal
Secure access to product, inventory and order information, integrated with M1.
The challenge
The original challenge.
SBA manufactures earthmoving buckets and attachments across three Australian locations. As the business grew, so did the administration needed to process orders and keep customers informed.
Purchase order processing
Approximately 200 customer purchase orders per week required manual handling and entry into M1, creating administrative effort and potential for errors.
Inventory visibility
Stock information existed in M1, but customers relied on reports and spreadsheets for availability and order updates, creating repeated enquiries.
The issue was not the ERP. It was the manual work required to move information between the ERP, employees and customers.
Our approach
Understand, integrate, automate.
We examined how information moved through the business before deciding what technology to implement.
- 01
Where was manual effort spent?
Receiving orders, transferring information into M1, checking stock and responding to enquiries.
- 02
Which systems held the data?
M1 already contained product, inventory and order records, so the solution needed to integrate with it.
- 03
What could be automated?
Reduce repetitive work while keeping staff involved in reviewing exceptions and resolving issues.
Two connected workstreams: automate purchase orders, and build a customer portal.
Workstream one
Automating purchase orders.
The previous process
Employees received customer purchase orders and manually entered order information into M1. With approximately 200 orders per week, this created a substantial workload.
What we built
An automated purchase order processing workflow connected to M1, designed to reduce repetitive entry and allow exceptions to be reviewed.
- 01
Receive customer PO
- 02
Extract order data
- 03
Prepare for M1
- 04
Process the order
- 05
Review exceptions
Workstream two
The SBA customer portal.
The portal gives authorised customers self-service access to product, stock and order information connected to M1.
Product catalogue
Browse attachments by machine type and model, with drawings and details.
Inventory visibility
See available, allocated and in-production quantities.
Part numbers
Support for alternative and superseded product references.
Secure access
Controlled access for authorised customer users.
Customer Program Products
Illustrative data only| Model | Product | Part number | Stock | Drawing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1.8t | Hydraulic quick hitch | DEMO-1001 | 24 | View PDF |
| Model 2.5t | GP bucket | DEMO-1002 | 12 | View PDF |
| Model 4.5t | Tilting hitch | DEMO-1003 | 8 | View PDF |
Order tracking
Order tracking and delivery-date changes.
Authorised customers can see open orders, current promised dates and changes that need attention.
Open deliveries
Illustrative data only| Order | Customer PO | Order date | Original promise | Current | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SO-10021 | PO-90031 | 18 Oct 26 | 04 Nov 26 | 08 Nov 26 | Revised |
| SO-10022 | PO-90032 | 20 Oct 26 | 12 Nov 26 | 12 Nov 26 | On track |
| SO-10023 | PO-90033 | 21 Oct 26 | 10 Nov 26 | 13 Nov 26 | Revised |
| SO-10024 | PO-90034 | 25 Oct 26 | 16 Nov 26 | 16 Nov 26 | On track |
Why it matters
Open delivery visibility
Customers can see outstanding orders and search by order or PO reference.
Promise-date comparison
Original and current committed delivery dates are shown alongside each order.
Exceptions are easier to spot
Revised dates are highlighted so teams and customers focus on changes.
Better customer visibility without replacing the underlying ERP.
The results
44 hours saved every week. 2,288 hours annualised.
Improved customer experience
faster access to stock, product and order information.
Less spreadsheet dependency
more consistent operational information.
A scalable operating model
supports growth without the same increase in administration.
“These solutions are helping us streamline our processes, improve efficiency, and provide a better experience for our customers. We really appreciate Inturing's expertise, support, and commitment throughout the implementation.”
Jacob Denford
National Sales Manager, SBA Earthmoving Attachments
Lessons
What other manufacturers can learn.
Significant improvements can often be achieved without replacing core business systems. Start by examining the manual work around your ERP.
Is manual work around your ERP slowing you down?
If your team is re-keying orders or answering the same stock enquiries every day, a 30-minute discovery call is usually enough to size the opportunity.