Complexity is not an exception in precision industrial manufacturing, it’s the norm. When products are built to order and highly configurable, seamless coordination across engineering, production, and service functions becomes mission-critical. For manufacturers of CNC systems, the stakes are particularly high, as each machine often represents a unique combination of design requirements, component specifications, and end-user contexts.
This case study explores how Cyntexa partnered with an innovative CNC equipment manufacturer to address these challenges head-on. By leveraging Salesforce and its broader ecosystem, the engagement delivered a scalable, digital-first foundation for operational excellence, enhancing visibility, reducing cycle times, and improving customer service delivery.
Client Introduction
The client is a globally recognized manufacturer of industrial CNC systems, known for its deep customization capabilities and commitment to quality. Their operations span three production facilities across Germany, the United States, and Mexico.
Challenges
Optimizing Design-to-Production Alignment: In custom manufacturing, design changes must be communicated with absolute accuracy to the shop floor. The client’s existing systems operated in silos, with no real-time integration between CAD design environments (PTC Windchill) and production execution layers in Salesforce. This led to version mismatches, manual reconciliation efforts, and a higher incidence of post-assembly modifications.
Achieving End-to-End Component Visibility: With thousands of serialized components distributed across multiple sites, the client faced delays in tracing parts and understanding the root causes of failures. Without a unified digital thread, warranty investigations were slow, and quality control was reactive rather than preventive.
Elevating Dealer Support Capabilities: Supporting highly customized machines across a global dealer network required rapid access to machine-specific knowledge and immediate engineering input. However, support processes were largely manual, with delays in approvals and limited reuse of tribal knowledge. Dealers often waited days for the resolution of technical queries.
Solution and Reasons for Collaboration
Due to these challenges, the client wanted viable solutions. They contacted our team and chose us based on:
Specialized Manufacturing Expertise: Proven success in implementing Salesforce solutions in complex, engineer-to-order environments.
Integrated Delivery Model: A dedicated team of developers, architects, and specialists is embedded directly into the client’s operations to ensure continuous alignment.
Accelerated Time-to-Value: Deployment of pre-built Salesforce accelerators tailored for serial tracking, component traceability, and product lifecycle visibility.
Collaboration
Role of Our Augmented Developers
Our expert developers developed a bi-directional Salesforce-PTC Windchill connector leveraging MuleSoft, enabling real-time propagation of design revisions into shop floor work instructions. These instructions included dynamic 3D visualizations and version-controlled PDFs to enhance production accuracy. Additionally, the solution included automated manufacturability checks that flagged potential constraints early in the quoting process.
- Salesforce developers implemented logic to track version lineage and sync design metadata.
- Their architect established a rules-based framework to govern change propagation, which our developers had sincerely followed.
- Cross-functional workshops with engineering and floor supervisors ensured UI/UX alignment with real-world usage.
- Cyntexa’s developers, who were MuleSoft specialists, integrated factory barcode scanners with Salesforce in real time.
- Our QA analyst worked with client teams to define 27 inspection checkpoints to capture component quality metrics.
- Custom objects and dashboards were built to provide actionable traceability reports across plants.
- Developers created dynamic knowledge objects linked to individual machine configurations.
Results and Impact
The project resulted in significant operational and service enhancements, including:
- Production precision improved through automated, version-controlled work instructions.
- Full component traceability across all sites led to faster warranty root cause identification.
- Dealer satisfaction surged, thanks to reduced response times and a more intuitive support experience.
- Cross-functional collaboration was strengthened via integrated digital workflows and transparent handoffs.
