Success Story · Manufacturing
Driving operational excellence
How Hose Master automated 95% of its order processing — eliminating over 100 hours of manual work each month while strengthening workforce engagement and customer satisfaction.
Hose Master
Flexible Metal Hose Manufacturing · Order Operations
95%
Of orders processed automatically
120+
Hours of manual work eliminated monthly
2.5 min
Average automated order time
600+
Hours saved since deployment
The Challenge
As North America’s largest manufacturer of flexible metal hose and expansion joints, Hose Master is known for a relentless focus on quality, innovation, and customer service. But their order entry process hadn’t kept pace with that reputation — it was still manual, and it was becoming a constraint on growth.
Critical order-processing knowledge lived with just a few key employees, creating real operational risk and succession-planning challenges. Their existing systems offered limited visibility into order transactions, making it hard to track performance or spot improvement opportunities. And the repetitive nature of the manual work was wearing on the team — reducing engagement and raising the risk of burnout.
The Solution
AXI developed a comprehensive automation solution that addressed both immediate operational needs and long-term strategic goals — designed to work within Hose Master’s existing systems while opening new capabilities for growth.
The work unfolded in three phases. First, a discovery and design phase: detailed stakeholder interviews and workflow analysis that surfaced optimization opportunities and shaped a future-state design preserving critical business rules. Then development and integration: custom automation, analytics dashboards, and intelligent exception handling built into the existing technology ecosystem. Finally, deployment and optimization: parallel testing, team training, and continuous monitoring that minimized disruption and maximized adoption.
Just as important as the automation itself was the visibility it created. For the first time, management could see order volumes, processing times, peak periods, and exception patterns — turning order operations into a data-driven function and feeding a cycle of continuous improvement.
The Results
The transformation delivered significant, quantifiable results across Hose Master’s business — and the impact went well beyond cost savings.
95% of orders processed automatically — with intelligent exception routing ensuring accuracy even for complex cases.
120+ hours of manual labor eliminated per month — freeing employee time for higher-value work.
Faster, more accurate orders — automated orders complete in about two and a half minutes, improving customer response times.
Revenue recovery — the added visibility surfaced and corrected outdated pricing points.
A more engaged team — with people executing human work instead of computer work, roles expanded and the team upskilled.
Strategic Value
Based on the results, leadership approved expanding the solution across Hose Master’s entire customer base — positioning the company to scale operations without a proportional increase in headcount, reduce dependency on tribal knowledge, improve employee satisfaction, and make more informed decisions through enhanced data visibility. The initial success catalyzed a broader transformation across the business.
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