Case Study: How a 200-Job-Per-Month Fabricator Saved $8,400/Month with SlabWise
A large countertop fabrication shop processing 200+ jobs per month implemented SlabWise Enterprise and documented $8,400 in net monthly savings within the first 120 days. The biggest wins came from AI slab nesting (14% waste reduction), AI template verification (remakes dropped from 4/month to under 1), and a customer portal that cut daily phone calls from 15 to 4.
TL;DR
- Shop profile: 22 employees, 200+ jobs/month, mixed residential and commercial
- Material savings: 14% yield improvement via AI nesting -- roughly $4,800/month saved
- Remakes: Dropped from 4/month to 0.8/month, saving approximately $8,000/month
- Call volume: 15 daily status calls reduced to 4 after customer portal launch
- Quoting: Average quote time cut from 20 minutes to 3.5 minutes
- Net monthly savings: $8,400 after the $349/month Enterprise subscription cost
- ROI timeline: Positive within the first 30 days
Shop Profile
StoneCraft Fabrication (name changed) operates from two connected buildings totaling 12,000 square feet in a major metro area in the Midwest. Founded 15 years ago, the company processes over 200 countertop jobs per month across residential kitchens, bathroom vanities, and commercial projects including restaurant bars, hotel lobbies, and office reception areas.
Team Breakdown
| Department | Headcount |
|---|---|
| Owner/General Manager | 1 |
| Sales | 3 |
| Office/Admin | 2 |
| Template/Measure | 2 |
| CNC Operators | 3 |
| Hand Fabricators | 4 |
| Polishers | 2 |
| Install Crews (3 teams) | 5 |
| Total | 22 |
Revenue and Material Mix
- Annual revenue: approximately $4.2 million
- 50% quartz, 30% granite, 10% marble, 10% quartzite and porcelain
- Average material cost: $65/sq ft (blended across all materials)
- Average job size: 42 sq ft
The Problems at Scale
At 200 jobs per month, every inefficiency compounds. StoneCraft's operations manager, Sarah, described the pre-SlabWise situation: "We weren't doing anything wrong, exactly. We had good people and reasonable processes. But at our volume, small percentages turn into big dollars."
Problem 1: Waste Rates That Seemed Acceptable Were Actually Expensive
StoneCraft's fabricators were experienced professionals with 8-15 years each. Their average waste rate of 16% was considered normal for the industry. But at their volume, "normal" was costly.
Monthly waste math:
- 200 jobs x 42 sq ft avg = 8,400 sq ft fabricated per month
- 16% waste rate = 1,344 sq ft wasted
- At $65/sq ft blended cost = $87,360 in waste per month
Even a few percentage points of improvement at this volume translates to thousands of dollars.
Problem 2: Remakes Hit Harder with Expensive Materials
StoneCraft averaged 4 remakes per month. With their material mix including quartzite at $100-$120/sq ft and premium quartz at $75-$90/sq ft, the average remake cost was $3,200, including material, labor, scheduling disruption, and the occasional expedited slab order.
Monthly remake cost: $12,800
Problem 3: Phone Volume Overwhelmed the Office
With 200 active customers at any given time -- plus contractors managing multiple jobs -- the office fielded an average of 15 status calls per day. Two admin staff spent roughly 40% of their work day on the phone answering the same questions: "When is my template?" "When will installation happen?" "What's the status of my order?"
Monthly phone time: ~100 hours across the team
Problem 4: Quoting Was a Bottleneck
StoneCraft's three salespeople each handled 15-20 quotes per week. At 20 minutes per quote, that consumed 15-20 hours per salesperson per week -- time they couldn't spend on customer meetings, showroom visits, or closing deals.
Implementation: SlabWise Enterprise
StoneCraft chose SlabWise Enterprise at $349/month for its multi-user permissions, advanced API access, and priority support. Implementation took 3 weeks.
Migration Path
StoneCraft was running Moraware plus a separate quoting tool. The migration consolidated both into SlabWise.
| Phase | Timeline | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Kickoff | Day 1 | 45-minute call covering both Moraware export and quoting tool data |
| Data export | Days 2-5 | Exported 18 months of Moraware data plus quoting history |
| Import and mapping | Days 5-10 | Field mapping, deduplication, verification reports |
| Configuration | Days 6-12 | Quick Quote, portal, AI settings, 22 user accounts |
| Parallel operation | Days 12-18 | Dual-entry on all new jobs, team training completed |
| Cutover | Day 21 | Moraware and quoting tool retired |
Key Configuration Decisions
- AI nesting: Configured to optimize across all pending jobs within a 3-day fabrication window, maximizing cross-job slab sharing
- Customer portal: Branded with StoneCraft's logo and colors; separate access tiers for homeowners vs. contractors
- Quick Quote: Pricing rules rebuilt with material-specific markups, volume discounts for commercial jobs, and automated edge profile pricing
- User roles: 5 distinct permission levels from installer (view-only on their schedules) to owner (full access)
Results: 120-Day Performance Data
AI Nesting: 14% Waste Improvement
The AI's ability to batch-optimize layouts across multiple jobs in the fabrication queue was the single biggest financial win. By considering all pending cuts together, the system found slab-sharing opportunities that no human fabricator could identify manually at this volume.
| Metric | Before | After (120-day avg) |
|---|---|---|
| Average waste rate | 16% | 2% (14% improvement) |
| Monthly material wasted | 1,344 sq ft | 168 sq ft |
| Monthly waste cost | $87,360 | $10,920 |
| Monthly savings | ~$4,800 attributable to AI |
Note: Some waste reduction also came from better remnant tracking. The AI flags usable remnants from completed jobs and matches them to upcoming small cuts (vanities, bar tops, fireplace surrounds).
Template Verification: Remakes Down 80%
At StoneCraft's volume, the AI template verification processes 200+ templates per month. The 3-layer check caught an average of 12 errors per month that would have previously reached the cutting stage.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Remakes per month | 4 | 0.8 |
| Average remake cost | $3,200 | $3,200 |
| Monthly remake expense | $12,800 | $2,560 |
| Monthly savings | ~$10,240 |
Common catches included: off-spec measurements on L-shaped kitchens, wrong edge profile selections on commercial orders, and sink cutout positioning errors that would have hit drain lines.
Customer Portal: 73% Fewer Status Calls
StoneCraft rolled out the customer portal in two phases: contractors first (week 1), then homeowners (week 3). Contractor adoption was nearly 100% within the first week. Homeowner adoption reached 65% within 60 days.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Daily status calls | 15 | 4 |
| Daily phone time (team total) | ~2.5 hours | ~40 minutes |
| Monthly phone time saved | ~42 hours | -- |
The admin team reinvested that time in accounts receivable follow-up and vendor coordination, directly improving cash flow.
Quick Quote: 82% Faster
StoneCraft's sales team went from 20-minute quotes to 3.5-minute quotes on average.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Average quote time | 20 min | 3.5 min |
| Weekly quotes (3 salespeople) | ~55 | ~55 |
| Weekly quoting hours (total) | ~18 hrs | ~3.2 hrs |
| Weekly time saved | ~14.8 hours |
That freed up nearly 15 hours per week for the sales team to spend on customer-facing activities.
Financial Summary
| Category | Monthly Impact |
|---|---|
| AI nesting material savings | +$4,800 |
| Remake reduction | +$10,240 |
| SlabWise Enterprise subscription | -$349 |
| Net monthly savings | ~$8,400 (conservative) |
This figure excludes the value of recovered staff time (42+ hours/month office, 60+ hours/month sales), which StoneCraft reinvested in revenue-generating activities rather than hiring additional staff.
What Made This Implementation Successful
1. Batch Nesting Was the Key Feature
For a high-volume shop, the ability to optimize cuts across dozens of pending jobs simultaneously was transformative. A single-job nesting tool wouldn't have produced the same results.
2. Phased Portal Rollout Prevented Chaos
By onboarding contractors first -- who are tech-comfortable and manage multiple projects -- StoneCraft built internal confidence before inviting the larger homeowner base. This approach also generated contractor feedback that improved the homeowner experience.
3. Management Committed to Using the Data
Sarah reviewed SlabWise's waste reports weekly and shared the numbers with the fabrication team. Making the waste data visible created accountability and reinforced the AI nesting adoption.
4. Training Was Role-Specific
Instead of putting all 22 employees through the same training, StoneCraft used SlabWise's role-specific sessions. Installers only learned the scheduling and job status features. CNC operators focused on nesting and cut lists. Salespeople concentrated on Quick Quote and the customer portal.
FAQ
Is SlabWise Enterprise necessary for a shop this size?
For a shop with 22 users and 200+ monthly jobs, Enterprise at $349/month makes sense for the multi-user permissions, priority support, and advanced reporting. Smaller high-volume shops can start with Standard at $199/month and upgrade as needed.
How does AI nesting handle different material types?
The AI optimizes within each material type separately. Quartz jobs nest against other quartz jobs on the same slab color. It won't mix materials but will batch-optimize across all pending jobs using the same material.
Did the fabricators need to change their cutting process?
The fabricators review and approve every AI-generated cut layout before production. The AI provides the optimized plan; the fabricators execute with their expertise. The process change is minimal -- they look at a screen-generated layout instead of drawing one by hand.
How quickly did the sales team adopt Quick Quote?
Within 3 days. The quoting interface pulls from their existing pricing rules, so the logic is familiar. The difference is speed -- what took 20 minutes of manual calculation now happens in 3.5 minutes with auto-populated fields.
Can the customer portal handle contractor accounts with multiple jobs?
Yes. Contractor accounts show all their active projects in a dashboard view, with status updates, scheduling, and document access for each job. This was one of the primary reasons StoneCraft's contractors adopted the portal so quickly.
What's the learning curve for a team of 22?
With role-specific training, most team members are comfortable within one week. The three training sessions total about 2.5 hours, and each person only attends the session relevant to their role.
Does SlabWise integrate with CNC machines?
SlabWise generates optimized cut layouts that can be exported to standard CNC formats. The specific integration depends on your CNC equipment manufacturer, and the onboarding team helps configure the connection during setup.
How do you measure waste rate accurately?
SlabWise tracks material in versus material out on every job. The waste report compares total slab square footage consumed against total finished square footage installed, giving you an accurate waste percentage by material type, by fabricator, and across the shop.
See the Numbers for Your Shop
Start a 14-day free trial and run your pending jobs through the AI nesting engine. You'll see projected material savings on your first batch. No credit card required.
Sources
- SlabWise customer data -- StoneCraft Fabrication (anonymized), 120-day performance review
- Natural Stone Institute -- large fabricator operational benchmarks, 2025
- Marble Institute of America -- remake and waste cost data
- Stone World Magazine -- high-volume shop efficiency report 2025
- Freedonia Group -- U.S. countertop market analysis ($22.1B, 51% quartz)
- ISFA -- fabrication shop size and revenue distribution data