Structural Lumber & Engineered Building Systems

A distributor of structural lumber and engineered building systems recently upgraded its accounting and inventory-control software to better handle strong growth and project complexity.

The company, based in Alberta, had been using an older accounting system but switched to the new Linux-based platform in order to integrate more closely with their design software and manufacturing processes.

“We chose the new system partly because being Linux-based we could customize it in a way that we could integrate our accounting much more closely with just about every aspect of our particular business,” says the Controller.

Key benefits and features of the upgrade include:

  • Sales orders placed through new regional outlets feed directly into manufacturing without manual re-entry.
  • The system interfaces with the builder-specification tool used by the design team so that bills of material are exported straight into inventory and accounting—eliminating duplicate entry and reducing errors.
  • Real-time visibility of inventory across locations, even during disruptions (e.g., generator fallback), ensures continuing operations with no data loss.
  • The user interface remains familiar for staff (Windows-style workstations) though the underlying system is Linux-based, leading to a smooth transition and uptake.
  • Sales quotes, orders, shipping notices, and invoicing are all managed within the same system, giving full control over the commercial process and reducing manual hand-off.

Because of this integration, the business now handles thousands of SKU items, large floor packages, complex job specifications, and high growth — all with improved accuracy, fewer mistakes, and faster turnaround.

Short description

An Alberta-based distributor of structural lumber and engineered building systems upgraded from a legacy accounting system to a Linux-based platform to support rapid growth and increasingly complex projects. The new system integrates tightly with design and manufacturing tools, allowing sales orders and bills of material to flow directly into inventory and accounting without manual re-entry. With real-time visibility of inventory across all locations, a familiar Windows-style user interface for staff, and full control of quoting, ordering, shipping, and invoicing in one system, the company now manages thousands of SKUs, large floor packages, and complex job specifications with greater accuracy, fewer errors, and faster turnaround.