The company is a sub-division of a large, multi-national, employs 70 and last year had a turnover of £10m.

"The key to many of our problems was our stock control. We had several systems running simultaneously, none of which were reliable and all of which stifled expansion." "Someone from Head Office would visit us regularly to ‘beat us up’ over late deliveries and to ascertain sales figures."

Problem 1: Stock control was shared between three separate systems, none of which were incomprehensive or reliable. It was estimated that upwards of 30 hours were wasted every week just searching for bought in components amongst the 7000 stock items which the company carries at any one time.

Problem 2: The poor stock control processes exacerbated the difficulties experienced by the Purchasing Department. Whilst the company had grown, the systems were still geared towards the operation of a small firm. Information was not readily available across all departments and consequently mistakes were frequent.

Problem 3: Production Control invariably launched jobs late. Disorganised ordering of components and materials by the Purchasing department and poor forward visibility of work and customer requirements were all attributable.

"As well as the complete eradication of arrears, in the last five months I think it is safe to say that FactoryMaster has conservatively been responsible for an increase in turnover of £600,000 and bottom line profit of £100,000.  The system has paid for itself several times over!" "The company functions more as a team, thanks to the integrated nature of the system.  Each department now realises the importance of their actions on the next." "Visits from Head Office have become less frequent and much more relaxed.  Thanks to FactoryMaster’s reporting, our meetings are more structured and positive." "One of our sister firms in the U.S. has commented on the improvements which are apparent.  They have shown an interest in our application of integrated manufacturing software to resolve some of our most serious issues." "A year ago, we were considered the least successful of the sub-divisions.  Today, thanks largely to FactoryMaster, some restructuring and the hard-work and commitment of our dedicated workforce, we are fast becoming a significant member of the Group."

Problem 4: As was evident from the various stock control systems which co-existed, the company required a certain amount of flexibility in whichever system it was to apply. Rigidity was partly blamed for previous implementation failures.

Solution: FactoryMaster features a fully integrated Purchasing and Stock Control system, maintaining full batch-traceability and providing live information to the right people.

Stock movements are facilitated by FactoryMaster Kitting Lists (for picking the requisite components of a Works Order for assembly/manufacture), Picking Lists (for ensuring that goods are shipped to customers at the right time) and Picking Labels (which identify the goods to be shipped to Stock Controllers and customers).

FactoryMaster features MRP (Material Requirements Planning) capability. At the touch of a button, Production Control and Purchasing departments can have complete visibility of Works Orders and P/Os which need creating. If lead times have been set up for each component, these can be applied to the report to ensure that starting late becomes a thing of the past.

Senior management are delighted with FactoryMaster - "Until we put FactoryMaster in, the company was struggling to meet its targets." explains the Implementation Manager. "Five months into implementation of the system and the management acknowledge that the improvements brought directly by FactoryMaster have been responsible for £600,000 of additional turnover. I look at the downward trend six months ago, and the way in which we are now exceeding our targets by £1m and would personally estimate the turnover figure attributable to FactoryMaster to be nearer the £1.2m mark."

Just some of the benefits brought by FactoryMaster:

• Well controlled Bills of Material that can easily be copied and modified for variants
  
  
• Extensive Stock Control functions including Kitting, Picking and Label Production
  
  
• Quick and simple production of Purchase Orders
  
  
• MRP based on Sales Orders, Assembly details, Stock Levels, Works Orders, Purchase Orders and Lead Times - giving a complete overview of requirements.

"Just five months into implementation and the management acknowledge that the improvements brought directly by FactoryMaster have been responsible for £600,000 of additional turnover."