How MTRL Streamlined Custom Furniture Design with Kinabase

About MTRL

MTRL, based in Park City, Utah, is a bespoke furniture design studio known for creating custom pieces for technology firms, law offices, and clients seeking unique elements in their office spaces. Their projects range from executive desks and conference tables to innovative soft architecture. Combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, including AI-driven design, MTRL stands out in the custom furniture industry.

The Challenge

Before adopting Kinabase, MTRL’s reliance on Excel for project tracking, vendor management, and budgeting posed significant challenges. Communication primarily occurred via email, leading to a disjointed system that resulted in:

• Frequent data errors: Missing project details and incomplete information often led to miscalculations in delivery timelines.
• Data duplication: A scattered approach involving multiple documents and spreadsheets made tracking project status difficult and error-prone.
• Inefficient collaboration: Remote teams faced challenges with version control and smooth project handovers, resulting in missed information and duplicated efforts.

These issues underscored the need for a centralised system where all team members could access real-time, accurate project data.

Why Kinabase?

MTRL explored various project management solutions before selecting Kinabase for its reputation in streamlining workflows and ease of customisation. The choice was driven by the need to consolidate disparate data sources and improve communication without disrupting their established processes. Kinabase stood out for its:

• Intuitive setup and flexibility
• Ability to handle complex, customised workflows
• Support for integrated communication and task tracking

The Solution

How MTRL Uses Kinabase

Kinabase has transformed MTRL’s operations by offering solutions that addressed their core challenges:

Enhanced Collaboration

Kinabase’s task assignment and tracking capabilities have significantly improved team collaboration, ensuring consistent progress across departments — even remotely. This reduced miscommunication and improved accuracy in project handovers.

Customised Data Views

MTRL utilises Kinabase’s ability to create tailored data views for different teams. For example, finance and sales teams can filter relevant project data without being overwhelmed by unrelated information, leading to faster and more focused decision-making.

Automated Workflows

Automation features have brought efficiency to MTRL’s project lifecycle. When a project transitions from engineering to production, Kinabase triggers notifications and tasks for the production team, eliminating delays and guesswork.

“Kinabase can easily be adapted to our unique way of doing business [...] we haven't had to adopt a new method of doing things that may not be suited for furniture design and manufacturing.”

This adaptability is vital for MTRL’s one-of-a-kind product lineup, where workflows often change based on new design projects and metrics.

Day-to-Day Impact

The platform has become an integral part of MTRL’s day-to-day operations across departments, enabling:

• A unified data source: Reduces the risk of data errors and ensures consistent project tracking.
• Improved project oversight: Streamlined tracking of progress, contributing to more reliable delivery timelines.
• Data-driven decisions: Enhanced ability to review past project metrics and lead times for better planning.

“Kinabase excels in data management. Fields cannot be mistakenly edited, and there’s less need for multiple people to have different sets of the same data. We can also send emails directly to Kinabase and log them as activities, ensuring that we can reference them later."