‘As a direct result of the solution delivered by Acorn IT Solutions, we can directly attribute a saving of 25 man days per month. In addition to this we have realised savings on raw materials, energy and reduced waste’. Mark Hutchinson (MD) SJC Hutchinson Engineering Ltd.
Business Challenge:
Established in the late 1970's, SJC Hutchinson Engineering Ltd (Hutchinson’s) provided a fabrication service to the local agricultural community as well as the industrial sub-contract market in all sectors of industry throughout Ireland and the UK. Substantial investment has been made in 'state of the art' Laser cutting, folding and fabrication machinery as well as 3d modelling packages.
Hutchinson’s understood that to compete in an increasingly competitive industry they needed to drive efficiency in their manufacturing process and better manage production costs. Prior to engagement with Acorn, their production process was primarily manual with jobs issued on a job handwritten sheet, with no product traceability and high administration.
The issues that Hutchinson’s manufacturing process faced included some of the following items:
After an initial consultation period to understanding the manufacturing and business process, Acorn developed and implemented their Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) solution to address the above issues.
Solutions
Post implementation, Hutchinson Engineering realised tangible efficiency improvements in their manufacturing process.
The main benefits Hutchinson’s achieved are as follows:
Implementation
The solution used Sage 200 Financial and Commercials as the foundation product. MPM fully integrated into Sage 200 providing a single business tool to manage Accounts, Stock and manufacturing.
The solution was implemented in 3 stages.
Stage 1
Initially Hutchinson’s accounts system was upgraded from Sage 100 to the latest version of Sage 200. This enabled Hutchinson’s to use all the modules necessary for their business, including Stock, Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing, Invoicing and Bill of Materials
Stage 2
The implementation of an order import routine that allowed the orders from Hutchinson’s main customers to be imported directly into Sage 200. In-turn these orders were then available for manufacture via MPM. This vastly reduced administration and the rekeying of orders.
Stage 3
Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) was introduced, replacing their former manufacturing system. This provided all of the benefits listed above.
‘Since installing the MPM system, we have seen many benefits to our internal processes. Acorn have worked to an initial brief, we have found their response excellent and would highly recommend them’. Mark Hutchinson (MD) SJC Hutchinson Engineering Ltd.
‘Acorn are delighted that by successfully implementing our MPM solution, Hutchinson Engineering have been able to gain better control of costs, improve their workflow management and realise a return on their investment’. Declan Bradley (Director) Acorn IT Solutions Ltd.