Backyard Discovery

Backyard Discovery Accelerates Engineering Change Management and Global Collaboration with M-Files

Highlights

Engineering change orders completed up to 75 percent faster, reducing cycle times from one to two weeks to approximately three days.
Document access times reduced by more than 95 percent, giving global teams near-instant access to drawings, bills of materials, and assembly instructions.
A single, trusted source of engineering documentation that eliminates version confusion and simplifies audits.
Seamless integration with ERP, product lifecycle, and customer-facing systems, supported by Azure-based infrastructure.

Use Case

Product Information Management
Customer Information Management

Industry

Manufacturing

Country

United States

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Company Introduction

Backyard Discovery designs, manufactures, and distributes outdoor leisure and lifestyle products that transform backyard spaces into places where families gather, play, and relax. The company began with wooden play sets and has rapidly expanded its portfolio to include gazebos, pergolas, saunas, outdoor kitchens, and premium grilling solutions.

As the company's product portfolio grew, Backyard Discovery also expanded its global manufacturing footprint, working closely with overseas partners in regions including China and India. This growth placed increasing demands on engineering documentation, collaboration, and the ability to manage product changes quickly and accurately across borders.

Key Challenges Before M-Files

Slow, Fragmented Access to Engineering Information

Before implementing M-Files, Backyard Discovery relied on FTP sites and later a Citrix-based file-sharing system to manage engineering documents. These folder-based systems created significant friction, particularly for global teams.

For overseas manufacturing partners, accessing engineering documents was slow and unreliable. Downloading drawings, bills of materials, or assembly instructions often took tens of minutes per file, making real-time collaboration difficult and limiting productivity across engineering and manufacturing teams.

"With the FTP site the communication was very, very slow. It was just kind of a disaster," said Tim Goodwin, CADD Manager at Backyard Discovery.

Version Confusion and Audit Challenges

The lack of structured version control meant multiple documents with the same name often existed in the same location. Teams struggled to determine which drawings or bills of materials were approved and current for production.

Engineering change orders were especially difficult to track. Changes were managed manually, and feedback from manufacturing partners could take one to two weeks, if it arrived at all. Confirming when a change was implemented often required searching through emails and disconnected communication channels.

"Tracking our engineering change orders was a nightmare," Tim said. "We did not know what purchase order a change started on or the exact implementation date. For auditing, it was really painful."

Infrastructure That Limited Speed, Scale, and Control

As Backyard Discovery expanded rapidly, its legacy systems struggled to keep pace. Folder-based permissions occasionally exposed information to unintended users, increasing risk, while slow access across regions compounded delays.

The company recognized that continuing to scale on this infrastructure would only amplify these challenges. Backyard Discovery needed a globally accessible solution that could support engineering change management, improve speed, and provide clear traceability.

"What really stood out to me was the scalability. We needed something that could grow with the company, integrate with our other programs, and work across countries."

Tim Goodwin, CADD Manager, Backyard Discovery

"We have had M-Files Expert Services for a couple of weeks, and it has already paid off. We can pull up a view and immediately see which products need a closer look from a costing perspective."

Tim Goodwin, CADD Manager, Backyard Discovery

The M-Files Solution

Context-First Document Management to Eliminate Operational Friction

After evaluating multiple document management solutions, Backyard Discovery selected M-Files, the Context-First Document Management system. M-Files stood out for its ability to scale globally, integrate with existing systems, and organize information based on context rather than folders.

"What really stood out to me was the scalability. We needed something that could grow with the company, integrate with our other programs, and work across countries", Tim explained.

Instead of relying on folder paths, M-Files organizes engineering drawings, bills of materials, test documents, and change orders using metadata that automatically connects related information. This makes content easy to find, reuse, and trust, while enabling faster and more reliable decision-making across the product lifecycle.

Streamlined Engineering Change Management with Built-In Auditability

M-Files became Backyard Discovery’s single source of truth for engineering documentation and change management, replacing fragmented file shares and manual handoffs. Engineering change orders are now managed through structured workflows that notify all relevant stakeholders, capture feedback from overseas partners, and clearly document implementation dates.

"Now we send out a change order, it goes through a workflow, everybody is aware of it, everybody gets notified, and we get feedback on when it is implemented," Tim said. This visibility allows the engineering team to make better decisions, such as bundling changes or timing updates around future purchase orders.

A Single Source of Truth Integrated Across Systems

Backyard Discovery uses M-Files as its central system for engineering information while allowing other departments to continue working with the tools they prefer. Data stored in M-Files feeds downstream systems through Azure Blob Storage integrations.

These integrations connect M-Files with ERP systems, product lifecycle management tools, customer service portals, and customer-facing documentation on the company website.

"Even though some teams are using their own software, they are still using M-Files. They are using the information in M-Files to fuel their systems, so we do not end up with conflicting documents", Tim said.

Continuous optimization with M-Files Expert Services

Backyard Discovery works closely with M-Files Expert Services to refine workflows, expand metadata usage, and support advanced reporting needs.

One example includes extracting cubic meters of wood directly from bills of materials into metadata, enabling instant reporting for forecasting, pricing, and cost analysis.

"We have had this for a couple of weeks, and it has already paid off," Tim noted. "We can pull up a view and immediately see which products need a closer look from a costing perspective."

The Results

Engineering Change Orders Completed in Days Instead of Weeks

By eliminating operational friction caused by slow access, version confusion, and manual change tracking, M-Files enabled Backyard Discovery to significantly accelerate engineering execution.

Engineering change orders that once took one to two weeks are now completed in approximately three days.

"We are no longer the bottleneck," Tim said. "We can actually move faster than other departments can make decisions."

Near-Instant Access to Critical Documents

Global teams can now access part drawings, assembly instructions, and bills of materials in seconds instead of minutes. For manufacturing partners in China, this represents a dramatic reduction in time spent waiting for engineering information.

Before M-Files, accessing critical documents through legacy file-sharing systems routinely took 10 to 45 minutes per file. With M-Files, those same documents are available almost instantly, reducing document access times by more than 95 percent.

For products with hundreds of parts, these delays previously consumed the majority of an engineer’s or production planner’s workday. By eliminating waiting time and repeated download attempts, M-Files effectively returns a full day of productivity per product cycle to overseas teams.

The result is faster issue resolution, improved responsiveness, and smoother collaboration across global operations.

"Now you can pull up a part drawing overseas in a matter of seconds. That alone gives us a day or more of productivity back", Tim explained.

"We are no longer the bottleneck. We can actually move faster than other departments can make decisions."

Tim Goodwin, CADD Manager, Backyard Discovery

Improved Accuracy and Self-Service Across Teams

With strong version control and intuitive search, employees across departments can confidently find the correct, current documents without relying on engineering for support. "People are not emailing me asking for documents anymore," Tim said. "They can find what they need, and they know it is the right version."

This self-service access frees engineering teams to focus on higher-value work while ensuring everyone operates from trusted information.

A Scalable Foundation for Continued Growth

As Backyard Discovery continues to scale, M-Files provides the flexibility to add users, expand workflows, and adopt new capabilities such as AI-powered assistance and enhanced collaboration without replatforming or disrupting how teams work.

"What worked three years ago might not work today. With M-Files, we can tweak it, add to it, and make it fit our needs as we grow", Tim concluded.

Watch Also The On-Demand Webinar

How Backyard Discovery Eliminated Operational Friction and Accelerated Global Engineering Workflows

In this on-demand session, Tim Goodwin, CADD Manager at Backyard Discovery and Kelsey Doughten, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Manufacturing at M-Files discuss how Backyard Discovery eliminated operational friction in engineering change management and gained measurable improvements in velocity, efficiency, and compliance.

Watch the on-demand session to learn how Context-First Document Management helps manufacturing teams accelerate engineering processes, strengthen governance, and build a foundation for trusted AI and scalable growth.

Watch On-Demand