Sage Line 500 opens the window for improved customer service

The company
EWS (Manufacturing) Limited is part of Laird Security Systems, a member of the larger Laird Group PLC. Laird Security Systems Division (LSSD) is dominant in the design, manufacture and distribution of security fittings for the commercial and residential home improvement and new build markets. Products cover a wide range of window and door hardware giving LSSD leading positions in many market sectors in the UK and USA.

EWS, a long establised business based in Wolverhampton, decided in 1985 to specialise in the production of custom made reinforcement sections and aluminium and steel spacer tubes for the PVCu window and insulated glass industries. As well as designing products specifically to customer requirement, it continually works to advance the science and technology behind the manufacturing processes. The company, of over 110 staff, is now the UK’s market leader in its field, producing over 60 million metres of roll formed products per annum and supplying to 20 countries worldwide.

“We had built up a UNIX skill set within EWS that we wanted
to take advantage of. Migrating to Linux seemed like the most
logical route for us to harness these skills and has proven a
worthwhile route – we have all of the latest functionality
whilst maintaining stability and reliability at the core.”
Dave Thompson, Planning & Logistics Manager

The challenge
Two years ago the market was adversely affected by two issues; increased price and availability of raw material. There was an increased demand for steel from China and this had a considerable knock-on effect on EWS and industry in general. As a result the company must now ensure that it controls its costs to ensure a sustained growth in the marketplace.

EWS is a long term user of Sage software and previously managed its business operations with a Sage CS/3 enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. When Sage announced it was no longer developing CS/3 EWS saw an ideal opportunity to evaluate its current internal system and take advantage of the most up to date functionality from Sage. One of the key drivers for the new system was to run it on a similar framework to the existing UNIX platform and for it to be installed with minimum disruption to business operations.

The solution
As a long-standing customer, EWS engaged the help of CPiO in finding an ERP solution that would best suit its business requirements. CPiO and EWS looked at the benefits of advancing to a Sage Line 500 system on a relational database. As well as keeping EWS in line with its parent group policy, Sage Line 500 offered the stability the company needed coupled with a higher level of functionality, whilst maintaining the high levels of support EWS had come to expect from Sage and CPiO. A SUSE Linux platform was selected and an IBM server installed to support the whole system, thus taking advantage of the company’s existing UNIX skills, avoiding re-training of the workforce and making it a highly reliable option for EWS business needs. The Sage solution efficiently handles end to end order taking and fulfilment.

The Sage and IBM Informix solutions, when running side by side, create an open database connectivity (ODBC) driver and incorporating Cognos Business Intelligence software meaning EWS can now also source ERP reporting for management.

“EWS has an excellent relationship with CPiO. They offered sound
technical and application advice throughout the process and continue
to support us to ensure we are working efficiently and effectively“
Dave Thompson, Planning & Logistics Manager

The benefits
The new Sage Line 500 system together with the IBM infrastructure is proving to be a success. The customer service department is now much more proactive as Sage Line 500 directly integrates with other systems making it easier to access, maintain and report on company wide information as well as having lower running costs. The front end boasts a contemporary graphical user interface through a windows based product, making it easier for users to operate and navigate.

Since the implementation took place the business has only once experienced downtime as a result of power outage. The IBM server running the Linux operating system and the SUSE Linux operating system gives EWS higher availability and greater stability at a more cost effective price than other operating systems of its kind. EWS is now able to create 30 bespoke customer reports that show monthly, daily and ad-hoc management reports with the help of Cognos software, and the processing of these reports has been dramatically reduced in time from up to thirty minutes to two minutes. Cognos also provides the space for more information to be held and allows the relevant diagrams to be printed on the reverse rather than a hand drawn image stapled to the report which runs the risk of getting mislaid.

The future
Finally, EWS is looking to trap more information on the time it takes to fulfil an order through better data capture. Currently the speed of each machine is recorded and fed into a spreadsheet but all the machines are of different standards and there is a problem with visibility on current orders. A review of this process is currently underway.

EWS’s goal is to view the works order number of each job as it is executed to track the progress and cross examine the business productivity i.e. average speed in metres per minute and metres produced per day. These actions will drive down costs, increase efficiency and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.