Leading producer of high-performance auto parts selects OptiProERP for its manufacturing functionality

October 2nd, 2022 by OptiProERP

Fast Growing CarBahn Off to the Races with OptiProERP

Irvine, CA – October 2, 2022 – Steve Dinan, known for making BMW sports cars go fast, has chosen OptiProERP with SAP Business One to power his second startup, CarBahn, which makes high performance automotive products for Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche.

Dinan not only built and sold the largest BMW aftermarket company in the US, but also develops race car chassis and racing engines for BMW. He’s won 11 racing championships and twice won the 24hr of Daytona.

Dinan plans to grow CarBahn quickly by offering high performance exhaust systems, engine modifications and tuning options for streetwise consumers driving Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsches. The company sells its products through dealer partnerships, and direct to consumers through its online store.

In addition to making and selling its high-performance auto products, the San Jose, CA-based company operates a racing team, a software division, and a hardware division.

“OptiProERP with SAP Business One is an original equipment manufacturer whereas Acumatica is sold through value-added resellers, so we thought we would have better support long term with OptiProERP. Our growth forecast is very aggressive, to the tune of 25 percent to 30 percent a year, so we needed someone to handle us at the very small point we are now, but be a perfect fit two years down the road without going to a new ERP system.”
– Dan McNiff, President, CarBahn

When Dan McNiff, CarBahn’s president, joined the company he found a small startup trying to get bigger quickly without a platform for growth. “We were holding everything together with duct tape, and using non-manufacturing software and it became critical that we find a proper ERP,” he says.

As a startup, CarBahn had paired a financial package with MaxxTraxx software, which was developed for automotive service operations, not parts manufacturing, which it needed for its suspension systems, inner cooling kits, and supplemental engine cooling products.

“We were modifying MaxxTraxx to do selling and manufacturing, which it was never designed for,” McNiff says. “There was a lot of wing and a prayer and spreadsheets. BOMs were written by hand and we had a lot of tribal knowledge that we really needed to get away from.”

The finance team and chief operating officer spent more time manipulating data than they did analyzing it. It took them more than five days to close a month’s books.

Solid Long-Term Support, Platform for Growth

McNiff evaluated 15 ERPs, narrowed his list to OptiProERP and Acumatica Cloud ERP, and selected OptiProERP for its robust manufacturing functionality and its partnership with SAP.

“We chose OptiProERP for a couple of reasons,” McNiff says. “OptiProERP with SAP Business One is an original equipment manufacturer whereas Acumatica is sold through value-added resellers, so we thought we would have better support long term. Our growth forecast is very aggressive, to the tune of 25 percent to 30 percent a year, so we needed someone to handle us at the very small point we are now, but be a perfect fit two years down the road without going to a new ERP system.”

Once OptiProERP is implemented, McNiff looks forward to automated processes that allow finance and manufacturing personnel to focus on their jobs rather than manipulating data.

“Right now, everything is so manual, our COO is pulling his hair out,” McNiff says. “I am looking for the system to do what it’s intended to do so the people I’ve hired can do what they need to control inventory and financials. We have four different divisions, and it takes hours of intensive accounting work to get them consolidated.”

He also looks forward to viewing dashboards with real-time data that displays up-to-the-minute inventory levels, payroll obligations, and where all operational costs stand at any time.

“OptiProERP gives us robust manufacturing functionality, an end-to-end management solution, and much needed visibility into our operations, visibility we need to achieve fast growth,” says McNiff.

For more information about CarBahn, visit.com www.Carbahn.com

About OptiProERP

OptiProERP is an industry-leading ERP solution for manufacturing and distribution. OptiProERP delivers best-in-class industry functionality embedded into SAP Business One, the market-leading business management platform for small and midsize enterprises. Customers gain an end-to-end business management solution, including financials, accounting, sales, CRM, and industry-specific functionality that fully leverages deep industry expertise of over 20 years dedicated to serving manufacturers and distributors.

OptiProERP is an eWorkplace Manufacturing solution. eWorkplace Manufacturing is SAP’s strategic industry partner for manufacturing and distribution and its first OEM partner as part of SAP’s global PartnerEdge Program. Serving manufacturers and distributors for over 20 years with OptiProERP and BatchMaster as its two ERP solutions, eWorkplace Manufacturing has gained the trust of over 3,000 customers globally.