Univerco Strengthens Operations for Its Next Stage of Growth

For nearly 50 years, Univerco has designed and manufactured specialized equipment for vegetable growers. Based in Napierville, Quebec, the company builds equipment for every stage of production, from soil preparation and precision seeding to mechanical weeding, harvesting, washing and sorting.

Univerco’s equipment is used by growers in Canada, the United States and international markets. Its product line includes highly configurable machines designed around different crops, growing conditions and customer needs. With a strong commitment to research and development, the company has built a reputation for practical, innovative equipment designed to help growers improve productivity.

As Univerco prepared for its next stage of growth after a change in ownership, its team saw an opportunity to strengthen the systems and processes behind their business. The company already had Genius ERP in place, but important information was still being managed in spreadsheets and other tools. To improve planning, purchasing, engineering and sales, Univerco began bringing more of its operations — and more of its information — together in Genius ERP.

Building a stronger foundation with better data

One of Univerco’s first priorities was improving the information used to plan production and purchase materials. Delivery dates, supplier lead times and other job information were not always consistently maintained in Genius ERP, limiting the team’s ability to use the system for accurate planning.

Led by Guillaume Bisaillon, Production Planner, Univerco worked to improve its data and make Genius ERP a more central part of its day-to-day operation. The team began entering and maintaining the information needed to support purchasing and production, then using Genius reports and automated replenishment reminders to stay ahead of material requirements.

This gave Univerco a clearer view of what was needed and when. The purchasing department can now act on requisitions earlier, helping ensure parts are available when production is ready for them and reducing the need for costly last-minute purchases.

Today, Univerco estimates that parts are available on time approximately 90% of the time. With materials arriving as expected, machines can move through production with fewer delays, and the team can spend less time responding to shortages.

“Genius is a powerful tool, but we weren’t using it — no delivery dates, no supplier lead times, nothing. How is the tool supposed to help you if you don’t give it anything? I’ve worked hard on that for two years, and now our machines get built on time. Ninety percent of the time, we have our parts when we said we’d have them.”

— Guillaume Bisaillon, Production Planner, Univerco 1978 Inc.

Improving the engineering process for complex machines

Univerco manufactures large, highly configurable machines, making accurate bills of materials essential. Its most complex machines presented a particular challenge: the existing CAD-to-BOM process could not fully manage their size and configuration requirements, so BOM information sometimes had to be re-entered manually when designs changed.

Rather than accept that extra work as part of the process, Univerco collaborated directly with the Genius ERP development team to improve the connection. Guillaume and Univerco’s engineering team shared detailed feedback, tested changes and helped identify what was needed to support larger configurable machines.

“What I like about Genius is that they’re constantly improving. I’m the guy who finds every little problem and flags it, and their team listens and fixes it. I’ve submitted at least fifteen corrections, and they were applied. My other software vendor stopped updating anything — they’ll never call to ask what I think.”

— Guillaume Bisaillon, Production Planner, Univerco 1978 Inc.

The resulting CAD2BOM improvements were introduced as part of Univerco’s upgrade to Genius ERP Version 17. By transferring engineering information into the ERP more effectively, Univerco reduced manual re-entry and lowered the risk of errors. Engineers can now spend less time rebuilding BOM information and more time designing and improving the equipment customers rely on.

Creating a more connected quoting process

Univerco also looked at how information moved between sales and the rest of the business. Previously, quotes were prepared using linked Excel workbooks and then passed to another employee for entry. The process required several handoffs, created duplicate work and sometimes pulled engineering employees away from product development to maintain the spreadsheets.

The company has since begun using Genius Web for quoting, allowing salespeople to prepare quotes directly in the system. Once a new quote is created, a Power Automate workflow notifies the internal team automatically.

Bringing quoting into Genius ERP has reduced duplicate entry and created a more direct flow of information from sales into the rest of the operation. It also gives engineers back time that can be better spent supporting customers and developing Univerco’s products.

As part of the rollout, Guillaume provided feedback to the Genius ERP team about the web interface. Several of his suggestions were incorporated into Version 17, helping Univerco build a process that better supports how its team works.

Supporting continued growth

With stronger data, more connected processes and improved tools for engineering and sales, Univerco has created a better foundation for growth.

The company is expanding its warehouse network to support consignment inventory with distributors. In addition to its operations in Napierville, Univerco has established new locations in Ontario and Saint-Roch, Quebec, with further expansion in Canada and the U.S. under consideration. Managing multiple warehouses through Genius ERP will help the team maintain visibility as its distribution network grows.

For Univerco, the biggest change has not come from adopting an entirely new system. It has come from finding better ways to use the tools already in place and bringing more of the business together around reliable information. The company’s progress reflects the work of a team committed to improving its operations while continuing to design and build innovative equipment for growers.

“For anything configurable, Genius is the ERP. I’d give them a 10.”

— Guillaume Bisaillon, Production Planner, Univerco 1978 Inc.

As Univerco approaches its 50th anniversary, that commitment to continuous improvement will help it continue developing new solutions, serve customers in more markets, and prepare for its next stage of growth.