Crane's Fluid Connection Blog | Fluid Handling Tips

How A Global Dairy Manufacturer Boosted Efficiency with E-Store

Written by Jake Spence | January 4, 2024

In 2020, our commitment to enhancing customer experience and transaction efficiency led us to introduce the Crane Engineering E-Store, featuring parts from reputable brands like Fristam, Flowtrend, Goulds, Gorman-Rupp, Grundfos, Viking, Warren Rupp, SPX, John Crane, and more.

“I would definitely recommend to anyone in maintenance and/or parts purchasing to check out Crane’s E-Store, it will save you time and make ordering parts easier.”– Maintenance Supervisor

Global Dairy Manufacturer Testimonial

The world's largest producer of whey protein isolate, and a leading global milk and whey protein ingredients manufacturer, relies on our E-Store for efficient operations. As one of our largest E-Store customers, this dairy manufacturer's journey showcases the transformative power of our E-Store platform.

Crane Engineering’s Fluid Process Sales Engineer, Ben Christensen, has been collaborating with this dairy manufacturer's Maintenance Supervisor on ordering for 5+ years.

Initially, they worked together on a paper-based system for ordering parts. This started with parts orders being quoted when Ben stopped into the Wisconsin dairy plant every 2-to-3 weeks. Together they would go through parts and work orders to determine what to order. Ben would then have Crane’s parts team email the diary manufacturer a price quote, they would review and finally request a purchase order. Lastly, their Maintenance Supervisor would email the purchase order to Ben to place the order.

This process could take up to a week depending on both of their schedules. The dairy manufacturer quickly realized they needed to be able to place orders more frequently and efficiently as replacement parts were required more often, and sometimes were critically important. They didn’t have a way of keeping track of parts used so it was written work orders and manual inventory. This system was not working for them anymore.

Old Process Before the E-Store (1 week to order)

  1. Ben from Crane Engineering visited the dairy manufacturer every 2 to 3 weeks.
  2. Together they determined what needed to be ordered.
  3. Quote emailed by Crane Engineering parts team.
  4. The diary manufacturer reviewed the quote and requested a purchase order.
  5. Emailed purchase order to Crane Engineering.
  6. Crane Engineering processed the order.

New Process with Crane Engineering’s E-Store

(Order & Ship Same-Day)

  1. Add parts to your cart as needed.
  2. Email the cart to your purchasing department.
  3. Submit purchase orders through the E-Store.
  4. All in-stock parts ship on the same day.

E-Store Implementation

The dairy manufacturer's Maintenance Supervisor was looking for a way to improve his ordering process and volunteered to work with Ben from Crane Engineering to be a trial customer for Crane's new E-Store. While working together, we made sure the E-Store had all the necessary parts and features to make the ordering process more efficient. The dairy manufacturer could now add parts to their cart, email the cart to their purchasing department, and submit purchase orders all through the Crane Engineering E-Store.

E-Store Features and Functionality

  • Accurate real-time pricing 24/7.
  • Faster ordering process.
  • Ability to create and maintain custom parts lists.
  • Track order status and order history.
  • Approve purchases for your team.
  • Ability to assign your own custom part numbers.
  • Extensive search capability.
  • Personalized 1:1 onboarding demo available.

Results

Now using the E-Store, the dairy manufacturer has an 80% faster order turnaround time! Even large expansion projects with new valve manufacturers became seamless, thanks to the efficiency of our E-Store.

The Maintenance Supervisor emphasizes the time-saving benefits when utilizing our E-Store, “Using Crane Engineering's E-Store saves me time when generating an order with up-to-date pricing, stock inventory, and working with Ben to add new items as we expand.”

Summary

The Crane Engineering E-Store has revolutionized the ordering process for this global dairy manufacturer, exemplifying how businesses can significantly enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and seamlessly adapt to expansions. Experience the transformation — register for our E-Store today!

Get in and get done. Shop thousands of items on our E-Store.

Learn more about how Crane Engineering supports the Food & Beverage market: