Flexible ERP to breathe new life into bandage maker

Support for radical changes, work in progress and finished goods reductions, customisable software and support for fast implementation have led Medlock Medical to go for a £500,000 ERP system from Information Engineering. Private equity firm Apax Partners Funds acquired Oldham, Lancs-based Medlock, best known for its Tubigrip compression bandages, in March from global healthcare company SSL International. Since the firm was manufacturing-only, finance, sales and distribution have all had to be added – along with IT. Says Campbell Montgomery, Medlock’s IT director: “We had to set up our own management infrastructure and we wanted a completely integrated IT system under one roof. The SSL system – four disparate systems from different vendors – was overly complex but also lacked the functionality. Information Engineering offered a system that not only meets the needs and timescales – access to SSL’s system ceases at the end of November – but supports the firm’s traceability processes for FDA and MHRA. Medlock is implementing a 75-user system including CRM and APS (advanced planning and scheduling). “The APS system will allow us to work to more accurate, shorter-term forecasts, facilitating shorter production runs and increasing manufacturing frequency. That will deliver significant reductions in work-in-progress and finished goods inventory.” There’s also 100 Syspro e.net licenses allowing the firm to customise the system using Syspro logic without affecting the core environment. Initially, the biggest uses for e.net will be introducing a customer intranet and warehouse management facilities with Syspro’s wireless barcoding and mobile applications module for the real-time control of materials movements.