Timloc builds out new ERP to support best manufacturing practice

£5 million turnover Timloc’s manufacturing operation in Goole, East Yorkshire, runs around the clock, five days a week, and the company had doubled business in four years – leaving its DOS-based system from the ‘80s struggling. Finance director Davin Coleman says the company evaluated three ERP systems in its hunt for a new system, focusing on strong manufacturing credentials to support a move to best manufacturing processes practice. In particular, he says the firm wanted strong MRP, which was absent from its existing software. “We could see immediately that Access Supply Chain was very much a manufacturing-derived product, which was exactly what we were looking for,” says Coleman. “It was also an all-encompassing system that linked seamlessly throughout every process - and it was easy to use.” And he adds: “Access Supply Chain is competitively priced. Some systems were two or three times as expensive for the same functionality.” He says the switch across to the new system took just eight months and the benefits have already started to roll in. “We saw improvements in sales order processing immediately,” says Coleman. “We also now have MRP running and it’s providing us solid data to work from. It’s given us extra control that wasn’t there before. The reporting capability is great too; it’s so flexible. “Next-day service is vital to this business, so stock accuracy is critical. Now we have all the data we need at our fingertips, we no longer have to rely on a storeman spotting an empty shelf. We’ve sharpened up our processes and staff can spend more time on value-added activities in the factory rather than running around checking stock levels.”