Company overview
Big River Rubber & Gasket is a specialized industrial distributor and custom fabricator headquartered in Owensboro, Kentucky. The company supplies rubber, hose, belting, gasket, conveyor, safety, and related industrial products, with capabilities ranging from stocked components to highly customized fabrication.
Big River differentiates itself through responsive customer service, extensive product knowledge, and an experienced team. Supporting that service requires the company to manage more than 36,000 active item numbers, custom fabrication, consignment locations, Vendor Managed Inventory programs, and orders received by phone, email, website, and six outside sales representatives. The company needed an ERP capable of accurately reflecting how its operation works.
The Challenge: The previous ERP could not support operational complexity
After using a legacy rubber products system for more than three decades, Big River moved to the Windows successor product. The company expected an easier transition because the systems were related. Instead, the implementation took approximately 18 to 24 months, followed by months of operational disruption after go-live.
Big River is not a traditional catalog distributor. Custom fabrication is central to its operation, requiring the company to manage bills of materials, custom products, and units of measure such as square inches and linear feet. The previous ERP could not consistently support those requirements or provide reporting the team trusted.
Key operational challenges included:
- Duplicated orders and unreliable inventory information
- No dependable workflow for building and costing custom gaskets
- Material quantities that did not update accurately during fabrication
- Sales and cost reports that produced conflicting results
- Periods when customer invoices and supplier payments could not be processed
- Purchasing signals that failed to identify replenishment needs
- Limited visibility into true product cost and profitability
- Consignment inventory that could not be configured successfully
The Solution: An ERP built for specialized distributors
Big River was introduced to 10X ERP through a peer referral within the RAGCO buying group. After visiting other member companies and seeing the platform in operation, the team gained confidence that 10X could support the workflows its business required.
The Big River team entered the evaluation knowing exactly where the previous system had failed. 10X answered those questions with working solutions for custom units of measure, fabrication, reporting, inventory, and purchasing, while demonstrating the product knowledge and engagement the team wanted from a long-term ERP partner.
With 10X ERP, Big River gained:
- Custom units of measure for square inches, linear feet, and other specialized products
- Fabrication and bill-of-material workflows for custom gasket production
- Accurate sales, cost, and margin reporting
- Real-time inventory, order, purchasing, and account visibility
- Centralized operational data available from one screen
- Operational dashboards for faster decision-making
- Mobile access for outside sales representatives
- Built-in documentation, AI assistance, and in-system access to support
- Configurable picking and quality control workflows
- A foundation for expanding Vendor Managed Inventory
“With 10X, someone can bring me a problem, whether I have dealt with it before or not, and I feel confident that I can figure it out before they leave. You cannot do that with a lot of systems.”
Beth Hayden, Human Resources/Office Administrator, Big River Rubber & Gasket
The Results: Reliable data, faster decisions, and renewed confidence
Accurate reporting revealed the true level of sales activity
After two full months on 10X ERP, Big River reported sales running approximately 20% to 25% above its prior average. The team believes the difference reflects both business performance and sales activity that is now being recorded and reported correctly.
More reliable orders improved the customer experience
Accurate order processing reduced duplicate orders, while dependable invoicing helped restore the service experience Big River is known for. Customers began telling the team that things were getting better and work was being completed again.
Employees accomplished more with a leaner team
Employees can quote orders, check inventory, trace purchasing activity, and review order status without navigating disconnected tools. Big River is completing more work without replacing every position that became vacant.
Mobile access made outside sales more proactive
Outside sales representatives now use tablets to review open orders, monitor account activity, and enter orders in the field. Real-time dashboards help them act before month-end rather than waiting to investigate missed billing or shipment activity.
An intuitive platform strengthened employee confidence
Built-in documentation, AI assistance, dashboards, and direct access to the 10X team help employees resolve questions quickly. The platform is easier to understand and has been embraced across the organization.
“Because of 10X, our customers are seeing better invoicing, fewer duplicate orders, and they are a lot happier.”
Kevin O’Brien, General Manager, Big River Rubber & Gasket
Before and after 10X ERP
| Before 10X ERP | After 10X ERP |
|---|---|
| Fabrication workflows could not support Big River’s requirements | Fabrication and bill-of-material tools support custom production |
| Custom units of measure were difficult to manage | Flexible units of measure connect square inches, linear feet, and full-sheet inventory |
| Duplicated orders and unreliable inventory data | Centralized order and inventory information employees can trust |
| Conflicting sales, cost, and margin reports | Real-time reporting provides clearer sales, cost, and profitability insight |
| Invoicing, purchasing, and supplier payments were disrupted | Connected transactions support dependable billing, purchasing, and replenishment |
| Employees spent time investigating and correcting system problems | Intuitive workflows, documentation, and AI assistance speed problem resolution |
| Outside sales lacked current order and account visibility | Tablet access gives representatives real-time information in the field |
“Compared with our previous conversion, implementing 10X was completely different. I kept wondering, ‘Should I be doing something?’ because the 10X team was handling it.”
Beth Hayden, Human Resources/Office Administrator, Big River Rubber & Gasket
Key business outcomes
- A 20% to 25% increase in sales captured and reported through the system
- Reliable visibility into sales, costs, margins, inventory, and open orders
- Purpose-built support for custom fabrication and specialized units of measure
- Fewer duplicate orders and more dependable customer invoicing
- Faster quoting, order lookup, inventory checks, and purchasing follow-up
- More work completed without replacing every vacant position
- Real-time mobile access for six outside sales representatives
- A scalable foundation for Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), quality control, and AI-powered workflows
Built to support what comes next
Big River is continuing to expand its use of 10X ERP. The company is configuring Vendor Managed Inventory for additional customer accounts and completing the labeling needed to support the program. It has also begun using picking and quality control tools adapted to its workflow so the team can see who has each ticket and when an order is ready for inspection.
The team is also exploring new AI capabilities at a measured pace, beginning with read-only functionality before moving toward workflows that can use PDF documents to initiate system transactions. With accurate information, more efficient workflows, and better visibility for office and field employees, Big River is positioned to strengthen customer service and continue growing without adding unnecessary operational complexity.
“I could not wait to get home and start using the 10X system. It is so exciting, and I am still excited to see where this company is going.”
Beth Hayden, Human Resources/Office Administrator, Big River Rubber & Gasket