The Shyft Group Charges Ahead with Plex & Commercial EVs

Challenges

• Demand for commercial-grade electronic vehicle solutions
• Expedited development and production timelines
• Need for real-time smart manufacturing platform

Solutions

• Plex Enterprise Resource Planning

Results

• Fully electrified, commercial-grade delivery vehicle
• Record-setting two-week Plex implementation

Andy Anderson is Vice President & CIO and Nicci Kew is ERP Manager for The Shyft Group. They are the North American leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. Their customers include last-mile delivery companies who use large trucks to deliver packages. 

With its Blue Arc™ EV brand, The Shyft Group is steering the commercial vehicle industry into the sustainable future. They’ve used their 50 years of experience in designing and manufacturing custom commercial chassis and truck bodies to develop electronic vehicle solutions for last-mile delivery.

Industry Demand for Commercial Grade Electronic Vehicles

“The industry was looking to move to commercial grade EVs, but when we went to find a chassis that you need for a vehicle like that, there wasn’t one available,” Anderson explained. “So, we built our own from the ground up, as well as the body on top of that, and became a full OEM of EV delivery trucks.”

Since they first announced their plans in 2021 to bring EVs to market, The Shyft Group has balanced rapid development timelines with the robust engineering needed for purpose-built commercial vehicles.

Plex Accelerates Speed to Market

Plex Enterprise Resource Planning has powered The Shyft Group’s ability to accelerate innovation. For their latest development, an electric delivery truck, they went from concept to functioning vehicle in just nine months. Their quick Plex implementation helped set the tone for the expedited pace.

“Plex came into play because we needed a solution where we were able to use a system in real time, and not have everything on spreadsheets and disparate communication,” Kew said. “We were able to create our Plex environment in two weeks, which included supplier purchase orders, pricing, parts information, receiving and receipts, accounts payable and some inventory information.”

“While we have a lot of history building commercial vehicles, we wanted to treat the Blue Arc brand as a startup in terms of the speed that we could move the prototypes to production,” Anderson said. “Plex technology was the backbone.”

Seamlessly Transitioning from Prototype to Manufacturing

Anderson credits Plex for streamlining the shift from the prototype stage to manufacturing.

“The transition wouldn’t have gone as smoothly without Plex helping us control the prototype phase and preparing us for the manufacturing cycle we’re in today,” Anderson explained.

A customer-centric culture focused on excellence was also key to this success.

“We had a highly engaged team on both the system and business sides,” Kew added. “To implement something this quickly, you need people who are dedicated and understand both product requirements and the system, working together to achieve the results we’ve seen.”

Fully Electrified Commercial Grade Vehicle

The new EV trucks are expected to hit the road in late 2024 and a well-known delivery company has already provided an initial order for 150 vehicles. The order reflects a shared commitment to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution through the adoption of commercial-grade EVs.

“These are fully electrified, lighter weight vehicles so fleets can deliver more packages. With the lighter weight, these vehicles have a longer range – over 220 miles – which is perfect for those last mile delivery companies,” Anderson said. “Drivers pick up the packages, do their runs, and bring the trucks back to charge overnight.”

Learn more how The Shyft Group has used Plex to charge ahead with its quest to electrify the delivery vehicle segment and why it was named the 2023 Plex Innovator Impact Award winner.