Valves manufacturer to get breath of fresh air from new ERP

The company, formed out of an MBO in December last year, needed to separate itself from its former owner’s aging and heavyweight ERP system, so selected SSL WinMan’s system. Leafield financial director Tim Chapple explains that five contenders were shortlisted but WinMan made most sense. “WinMan has very powerful production planning capabilities, which is an area we had already identified we needed to improve. “This, linked with the rich ERP functionality within WinMan, offered us a way to gain complete visibility and control of what was happening throughout the company. And, being based on the latest .Net technology, we know that it will provide the most seamless integration with the other systems within the company.” Chapple says the decision to go for WinMan was taken in mid May and that the company is aiming for a go-live on 30 September. Other anticipated benefits, he explains, will include much greater ease of use, which will result in everyone within the company being able to get onto the system. Previously, only a select few had access, due to the complexity of the system. Also, with WinMan’s management reports, Leafield will be able to bring business understanding in-house. Chapple insists that increased visibility, resulting from these reports, will enable greater delivery date accuracy and ultimately increase customer satisfaction. “With WinMan, it feels like we are much more in control of our own destiny and it will be a key enabler to relocating later in the year.”