Cangshan Cutlery Company

Premier products, exceptional customer service

The Cangshan Cutlery Company offers both Western- and Japanese-style knives that deliver performance, meeting the high standards of even the world’s top chefs. Demand quickly grew for the company’s beautifully designed, highly functional cutlery crafted with premier materials. Since 2015, their products have been distributed in the U.S., embodying the company’s ethos of “Beautiful Function.” The company, which describes itself as a “startup disruptor,” is now creating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Texas. As the business grew in size and complexity, Cangshan recognized the need for a comprehensive ERP system that could scale with operations. SAP provided the solution.

Read the client success story.

Optimizing business processes now and building a strong foundation for the future with SAP S/4HANA

Before: Challenges and opportunities
• Lack of integration between the U.S. ERP system and overseas manufacturing operations, limiting visibility and operational efficiency
• Reliance on time-consuming manual processes, lacking warehouse management functionality
• Report multiple sources of data, pulling from systems to work within Excel

Why SAP and Navigator Business Solutions
• SAP’s extensive manufacturing expertise, established business processes, and industry best practices
• Ease of integration with partners using EDI and APIs and independent partners‘ data-sharing processes
• Navigator’s comprehensive discovery process tailored the implementation of Cangshan unique pathways

After: Value-driven results
• On-demand data access eliminated troubleshooting orders, replaced spreadsheets and manual methods
• Necessary functionality with minimal customizations keeps SAP clean core and minimizes technical debt
• Easy on-demand access to metrics through tailored dashboards and granular control of transactions

Modernizing cost-effective warehouse processes with SAP S/4HANA

Scaling quickly and adding manufacturing in the U.S. required Cangshan to evaluate its warehousing processes. The company did not have a bin management system, using manual, paper-based processes and struggling with inventory accuracy challenges. Also, although its previous ERP instances supported cycle counts, they were custom-coded. Legacy processes also limited the company’s ability to keep up with demand during the Q4 holidays, which is key for maximizing revenues.

With SAP EWM, Cangshan has optimized warehouse operations. With barcode scanning and data managed in SAP, picking processes are more productive, and accuracy increased to 98.5% within 6 months. The company has also increased efficiency by implementing scheduled cycle counts through SAP. Cangshan’s plans include enhancing supply chain management with advanced technologies, including machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence, supported by SAP.