Maglin Site Furniture is a leading North American manufacturer of public site furnishings. Through outstanding design and innovative use of recycled materials, they create high quality solutions that enhance the aesthetics and functionality of all environments.
Maglin designs and manufactures furniture including seating, tables,waste containers,bike racks,and planters for public gathering areas. The organization has to be effective, lean, and fast-moving to meet the demands of customers who want custom configurations to suit their creative designs.
For many manufacturers, customization usually means longer lead times and bottleneck, causing problems for landscape architects and site contractors who can rarely afford to wait.
Javelin Technologies, a DriveWorks Value Added Reseller in Canada, introduced Maglin to DriveWorks. Maglin were able to quickly and easily implement DriveWorks software, allowing them to successfully move to manufacturing – and to market – much faster.
Maglin now uses a DriveWorks-powered configure-price-quote (CPQ) system for three of its furniture lines Lexicon, Ogden, and Pixel. Each line is built to order and available in different sizes, colours, materials, and layouts there are thousands of possible configurations.
In the past, getting from desired specs to approved drawings took at least two weeks; today, the entire process can be done in one online configuration session.
Aaron Dawson, Director of Manufacturing for Maglin describes the impact of changing from a manual process to using DriveWorks by pointing to the Ogden modular product line.
We offer thousands of various bench radii, making it a custom product, always built to order. To avoid costly errors and wasted time and materials, customer approval of the layout drawings is paramount.
Before implementing DriveWorks, a Maglin sales rep would talk to the customer and record the specs required, then request the drawing. An engineer would create the drawing and send it to the customer for approval. Once approved, production would begin.
Even if there were no changes, working through a drawing approval process would take about two weeks. If the customer wanted changes, that timeline could double.
Through DriveWorks, this long process was eliminated. Now a sales rep can automatically create the drawings based on the chosen configuration, right in front of the customer. Maglin can also give the landscape architect access to the system to create his or her own design and drawings.
At the beginning of a CPQ session, the sales rep or customer chooses the specs for each element shape, dimensions, colour etc. The system continually updates in real time, including pricing, as they try different options.
When the design session is over, they have drawings, a model to insert into their site drawings, and a quotation.
DriveWorks is linked to Maglins freight partners database, so even the shipping cost is generated automatically the system knows the size, weight, and number of packages.
The engineering team is not involved in this process at all, Aaron says. They are entirely dedicated to the production process and new product development.
Sometimes, when there is talk of automation, people fear the change or worry about the impact on their role.
Aaron says DriveWorks has removed the backlog of projects in the sales process and has freed up designers to use their creativity to design new products.
Automation tools remove day-to-day repetitive tasks. Our designers no longer have to spend time tweaking the furniture configuration because the software does that.
“Our designers were on board from the start. They have totally embraced it.
Aaron also points out that because the sales process moves faster, overall business revenue is increasing. He can add more designers to the team.
The sales team has been freed from their backlog as well, and can focus on creating and strengthening relationships with customers, which is critically important to Maglin.
There is no lack of opportunity out there, Aaron says.
Our sales people now have more time to maximize the use of our CRM. They can see who has been working on layouts online and give people a call to talk about their needs. We want new clients and new projects thats the most valuable use of their time.
Maglins original reason for implementing the DriveWorks CPQ system was to get to manufacturing quicker to reduce the cash conversion cycle.
As they gained experience, they started wondering, Can the software do this? and What if we could make the system work like that?
Maglin have been continuously improving on their DriveWorks project, adding new products and functionality.
The team also attended DriveWorks World, to boost their knowledge, meet other DriveWorks users and share their feedback and ideas to help shape the future of the software. At the event they also presented how they are using DriveWorks to inspire other users to do more with their projects.
Aaron says its a continual learning process for everyone and has appreciated that Javelin has pointed him to funding opportunities for resources and training.Maglin has been able to secure grants to support their investment in DriveWorks.
Maglin CEO Ian McAskile said “DriveWorks has been a game changer for us as we continue to be a leader in our industry.
Digital Transformation initiatives, helping companies choose the right technology and secure grants, are becoming increasingly popular. If you are considering investing in DriveWorks software, contact your reseller for more information about funding available to you.
We work closely with the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network all over the world. We enjoy supporting the community and getting involved in any way that we can.
In September, we went on a DriveWorks SWUG Tour of California. Heather from the DriveWorks team visited and presented at five SOLIDWORKS User Groups meetings. It was a great time to be on the road talking about DriveWorksXpress and the DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification Program.
We kicked off the week at the San Diego SOLIDWORKS User Group. We chatted about both DriveWorksXpress and the CDWXA Program.
At the end of the evening, we explored one of the DriveWorks online configurator examples and configured a trailer together.
On September 12th, we headed to Corona, California to meet up with the Inland Empire SWUG. This meeting was a lot of fun as it was hosted at a local high school.
The room was full of students, both past and present, and we had some great discussions on DriveWorks. We talked about the value of education and how the students can add to their skill set by becoming a Certified DriveWorksXpress Associate.
We have already seen one of the students from the group achieve their DriveWorksXpress Certification congratulations!
On Tuesday, September 17th, Heather presented at the Kern County SWUG in Bakersfield, California.
We talked about DriveWorks and explored the many different DriveWorksXpress Sample Projects from a variety of industries, showing how versatile design automation is and how automating reduces repetitive tasks.
An instructor and a student from Bakersfield College attended and it was a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about the DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification Program.
As luck would have it, the student from the school won one of the coveted SOLIDWORKS backpacks!
On Wednesday evening, September 18th, we met up with group leader Jose Saldana at the SOLIDWORKS User Group of Fresno. The meeting was hosted at a local brew pub and drew a great crowd.
We ate sliders and fries and chatted about DriveWorks throughout the evening.
Our 5th and final meeting on this SWUG Tour found us in Oakland, California at the Laney College SWUG on September 19th. Ahead of the meeting, we took a quick tour of the school and their machine shop.
Laney College offers several different programs that teach machining and manufacturing to help students gain a head start in a competitive jobs market. Laney College was the perfect venue to end this trip to the west coast and the room was set up for a great presentation.
Group leader Elise Mossis very engaged in education and working with students to build their CAD skills. It was clear by the size of the group in attendance that evening that her influence in this area is very well received.
Thank you to all the group leaders in California that opened their doors and allowed us to spend time with your groups talking about DriveWorks.
Special thanks to Fresno SWUG leader and SWUGN Regional Representative Jose Saldana for helping coordinate this SWUGN Tour we had a great time in California!
Every year the Queen’s Awards winners in the International Trade category are invited to a gala dinner hosted by the Institute of Export & International Trade.
As a Double Queen’s Awards winner this year, we were excited to be invited along to meet other UK businesses who are also exporting successfully.
DriveWorks CEO, Glen Smith and Vice President and Co-Founder, Maria Sakar attended the Institute of Export and International Trade Gala Dinner at The Fishmongers Hall in London.
This gala dinner celebrates the achievements of companies across the UK who have received recognition for outstanding performance in International Trade with a Queens Awards for Enterprise the most prestigious accolade for businesses in the UK.
Established in 1935, the Institute of Export & International Trade is the professional membership body representing and supporting the interests of everyone involved in importing, exporting and international trade.
Since receiving a Queen’s Awards for International Trade, we have joined the Institue of Export. The gala dinner was a great way to kick off our membership and meet other members too.
The event was held at The Fishmongers Hall next to London Bridge. The historic building has been home to the worshipful company of Fishmongers, one of the 12 livery companiesof theCity of Londonfor over 700 years. With it’soutstanding reputation and superb surroundings, it made the perfect venue for the Queen’s Awards gala dinner.
The evening included a pre-dinner drinks reception, a 3-course meal, and a notable guest speaker, Reverend Richard Coles – the British reverend, radio presenter and speaker.
Glen and Maria were sat at the top of the table across from Reverend Richard Coles as he spoke about his intriguing career path from pop star to reverend.
Terry Scuoler and Lord Green, the Chairman and President of the Institute of Export & International Trade, praised all of the award-winning businesses in the room forleading the UKs efforts to export more around the world.
The dinner was a fantastic opportunity to meet other winners of the Queen’s Awards and to celebrate our successtogether. We met another Warrington based Queen’s Awards winner – ICC – and it was fantastic to make local connections whilst also networking with other UK business leaders.
With a growing demand for British products and access to international markets, there is an increasing opportunity for UK businesses to succeed through export and international trade.
Many UK business are already taking advantage of the access to wider markets, reach to new customers and greater revenue.
Data released by HMRC in June showed that every UK nation recorded a greater value of goods exports in the 2018/2019 financial year than ever before.
Since DriveWorks was founded in 2001, our software has been usedby businesses of all shapes and sizes from across the world, in a wide range of industries and market sectors, withalmost 80% of our revenue now coming from overseas.
We have builta strong channel, with an international network of over 100Value-Added Resellersacross 53 countries, who work with us to sell and support our software.
Not only are we exporting ourselves, we are also enabling manufacturers to export. By using DriveWorks to create an online sales platform, manufacturers are instantly opening themselves up to an international market. More and more companies are looking for smarter ways to reach more customers and turning to solutions such as DriveWorks.
Explore our online configurator examples at www.driveworkslive.com to see how companies can use DriveWorks to create an online sales platform.
