Plug and play IT solution for juke box manufacturer

£9m Leeds-based juke box manufacturer Sound Leisure says it’s looking for transformed manufacturing efficiencies from its new ERP system due to go live in July. Sound Leisure designs and manufactures digital juke boxes for the leisure trade, as well as custom hand-built repro classic juke boxes costing upwards of £4,000 – popular with well-healed ageing rockers, footballers, actors and the like. Considerable growth, diversification and changing technology in the industry meant that the company’s existing IT system was unable to cope. Hence the move to new integrated manufacturing software from Access Supply Chain. Sound Leisure’s digital juke boxes and retail solutions are based on PC technologies, and components can become obsolete within six months. So with the new system, all changes to BoMs (bills of materials) will be recorded in the system database, improving the accuracy of sales, purchase and service processes which to-date have been manual. Production and logistics director Mike Black says: “In the days of vinyl and CD it wasn’t a problem, but now we have to be right on top of things. The Access system will give us a clear historic view of components installed, which supplier they came from and details of compatible replacement items where components have gone end-of-line. “We have been greatly impressed by the capability to analyse information across the entire organisation in real time. We anticipate that the centralised data and reduction in paperwork will save us a day a week across the business.” The system will also allow the company to meet the increasing demands of its retail customers to provide detailed monthly reports on the status of its systems: how many have been installed, how many on order, expected delivery dates and so on. Currently taking an average of four days to compile, the reports will be raised and emailed to clients automatically. Sound Leisure eventually plans to introduce password access to the system to give customers real-time views of their accounts over the web. Black says that involving the company’s staff in the implementation was critical and a key factor in the decision to choose the Access solution in view of its 10-step implementation plan, which involves workshops with staff at all levels. “We have a very low staff turnover and a lot of the mission critical information is in the heads of our key personnel or on their own databases. It was important they recognised that sharing information with others was going to free them up from unnecessary admin and let them get on with doing their jobs,” says Black. “They are very enthusiastic about it. If it gives them an extra 20 minutes a day just to take a look at what’s going on in the company and the products we’re selling, that’s great because it means they’re better informed when they speak to customers.”