How Barry-Wehmiller replaced manual work with custom solutions built on Zoho Creator—delivering 10x operational growth

The company

Barry-Wehmiller is a global manufacturing and technology company based in St. Louis, USA. The company specializes in producing engineering parts for machines used in packaging, corrugating, and paper converting operations.

Its Indian entity plays a critical role in the company’s global sourcing operations, working with suppliers across Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, and parts of North India to manufacture components which are then exported to the US and Europe.

With a legacy that dates back to 1885, Barry-Wehmiller has steadily grown through more than 120 acquisitions. Today, it serves a wide range of industries and maintains a strong presence in over 100 countries around the world.

The challenge

Without a structured system in place to manage their sourcing operations, Barry-Wehmiller India found it challenging to maintain clarity and control across teams. Each team worked on separate Excel sheets, making it difficult to track progress and stay aligned across departments.

They often struggled to figure out who had the latest version, who was making updates, and who had access to the files. This created considerable confusion and left them with limited visibility into the overall process.

Managing supplier quotations was just as challenging. Requesting quotes involved phone calls, waiting for responses, and constant follow-ups to obtain them from the suppliers. It was an effort-intensive process that often left room for delays and impacted overall efficiency, making it clear that a more efficient solution was necessary to overcome these bottlenecks.

The solution

With Zoho Inventory already part of their system, Sridharan Balaiyan, who leads the sourcing business at Barry-Wehmiller India, began exploring other Zoho tools that could help automate their operations. This led him to Zoho Creator, which soon became an integral part of their operations.

Sridharan started off by building simple forms on Creator to manage data for BW-manufactured parts and gradually started providing suppliers with access to the system. This initial experience quickly revealed the platform’s broader potential to streamline other areas of their operations. Recognizing this, Barry-Wehmiller partnered with Spikra, a Zoho Advanced Partner, to develop six customized applications on Zoho Creator, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of their sourcing business:

Inquiry management system

The first application focuses on managing supplier inquiries. It serves as the central module where Barry-Wehmiller receives all inquiries from their group companies. The application streamlines the process of documenting each inquiry and ensures that the details are shared with suppliers for the quoting process. It now acts as a common platform for both Barry-Wehmiller’s clients and their suppliers, providing better control and visibility over all incoming inquiries.

Part status app

To streamline their order processing and ensure that the parts being manufactured at the supplier’s facility progress through the right stages, the part status app was developed. This application gives all their suppliers direct access to update the status of each part on a daily basis. It allows Barry-Wehmiller to actively monitor progress in real time and stay informed at every stage of the manufacturing process.

Shipment tracker

The shipment tracker app enables Barry-Wehmiller to track container assignments and monitor the real-time status of products in transit. The logistics company logs all the shipping details directly into Barry-Wehmiller’s portal, allowing them to capture and track this information in real time. Since they regularly ship products from India to the US, this logistics and shipment tracking app keeps them fully informed throughout the shipping journey of their products.

Quality management system

This app manages product quality and ensures that every manufactured part meets the required standards. It helps Barry-Wehmiller track instrument calibration and maintain up-to-date quality records within the system. The app also allows them to monitor the status of the sketches of the parts to be manufactured as well as the parts undergoing quality checks. By bringing all this information together in one place, the app simplifies quality management and helps maintain consistency across their operations.

Should costing app

The should costing application helps the team accurately calculate the cost of each part that is being manufactured. Previously, this was done using an Excel-based template to estimate product costs. With the new application in place, the team can now determine product costs more efficiently by capturing data from various processes within their system.

Pre-order processing app

This application streamlines how Barry-Wehmiller manages purchase orders from their customers. It ensures that each order is entered in a structured way into their inventory system and also allows the team to carefully verify all the details in the purchase orders before uploading them, helping to prevent errors and maintain their inventory records.

Benefits and ROI

Implementing Zoho Creator has completely transformed the way Barry-Wehmiller manages its sourcing operations. With a smooth system flow in place, the team now operates with a robust data management system that enables real-time updates and reporting. Tasks that once required manual data entry and consumed significant turnaround time are now fully accessible online—and right from their pockets. Team members no longer need to set aside dedicated time for data entry; information is updated on the go, and anyone can instantly access the latest data and product statuses, anytime, anywhere.

Looking forward

Barry-Wehmiller is set to develop two new applications to enhance their operations. One is a parts inspection reports application that will enable suppliers to report the inspection status of manufactured parts. The other is aimed at assessing supplier capabilities in real time. Looking ahead, they plan to build several more Zoho Creator applications to drive greater efficiency and scale their operations.