Cozzens Cabinets Doubles Productivity with Novell Small Business Suite

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Posted: 29 Jul 2002

"Our productivity has doubled since we installed the Novell Small Business Suite. The impact on our business has been phenomenal. It's performed so well that it paid for itself within six months. That's what I call ROI."
Paul Cozzens, Owner, Cozzens Cabinets

Overview

Since 1987, Cozzens Cabinets LLC has been building high-end, custom cabinets for luxury homes and select commercial projects. Every cabinet is built by highly trained craftsmen who use only the finest materials. With legions of satisfied customers, Cozzens Cabinets has earned a solid reputation for building some of the best custom cabinets in the western United States.

Challenge

Cozzens Cabinets has been on the forefront of incorporating technology into a traditional craft, bringing together the best of old techniques and new processes to create a superior product. With programs like Planit Cabnetware*, Cozzens cabinet makers have been able to use computer-aided design (CAD) to draw each phase of a custom cabinet job.

But not all of the company's technology investments delivered on the promise of improved productivity or cost savings. Expensive equipment, like a computerized beam saw and a Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machine, failed to provide all of the productivity benefits that the company had anticipated. While the equipment and software were top of the line, none of the machines were networked together.

"Every component of our system was purchased separately," explains Paul Cozzens, founder of Cozzens Cabinets. "The machines worked well, but nothing was tied together. With each process tied to a specific function, we had to load disks of design information on to each machine separately. It was a slow, cumbersome and time-consuming process. And in a shop, disks and drives get dirty, which led to additional downtime and delays."

Novell Solution

After discussing his company's technology difficulties with Novell? Small Business Specialist, Rick James, of Advanced Automation Partners, Cozzens selected the Novell Small Business Suite to maximize the effectiveness of his software and equipment. A full-service bundle of easy-to-use software tools, Novell Small Business Suite combines the power of NetWare? with the versatility of Novell eDirectoryTM and the connectivity of GroupWise?. It proved to be an ideal solution, providing all of the productivity gains Cozzens had hoped for ? and then some.

"Novell Small Business Suite tied all the computerized machines in my shop together," says Cozzens. "Now I can design a job and send it right to the beam saw and the CNC machine. It's just that quick. I never have to worry about loading disks or making sure that each machine is working off of the right information. If I alter the design, I make the change just once, and each machine automatically makes the correct adjustments."

Novell Small Business Suite delivered other productivity gains, as well.

Before, if someone was working the beam saw, he would have to know the intricacies of each job, including the materials needed, customization details and a lot of additional information prior to starting.

"Now, all he needs to know is the file number of the job," explains Cozzens. "With the Novell Small Business Suite, every process is tied together. As a result, the operator can complete the work more quickly, which makes us more productive. Multiply that type of productivity gain to everyone in the shop, and you can see that it's saved us an enormous amount of money. We can get a lot more done with fewer people. It also enables me to hire new workers who are less skilled and, therefore, less expensive."

The Results

Thanks to the Novell Small Business Suite, Cozzens Cabinets has doubled its productivity, cut operating expenses and increased revenues. Not only are workers producing more in less time, but the reliability of the network has also boosted productivity.

"It's been rock solid," explains Cozzens. "It's so easy to back up that if a problem does occur, we can quickly go back and retrieve the correct file. It gives me complete peace of mind."

With fewer mistakes in the system, downtime and operating expenses have been cut dramatically. And the company has been able to take on more work. As a result, revenues have increased by more than 30%. In fact, Cozzens Cabinets is now cutting cabinet parts for some of their competitors.

Best of all, Novell Small Business Suite paid for itself in only six months.

"The ROI on the Novell Small Business Suite has been incredible," declares Cozzens. "I figured that it would take five years for this to pay for itself. But we achieved our full payback in six months. I don't know how I ever ran my business without it."