Vanquish Hardware Protection is a UK-based manufacturer of intumescent fire protection products, specializing in protective fire door hardware.
In the early days, Vanquish utilized Sage 50 in combination with spreadsheets for its production, stock, and order management – a makeshift production system that worked reasonably well with a low order volume, but as volume increased, it became a clear bottleneck.
Ease of use was the benchmark for finding a new solution
Vanquish didn’t start the search for a new production system with a detailed ERP shortlist. Instead, an email from independent manufacturing and ERP consultancy, Smart Manufacture, introduced the team to the SME-oriented manufacturing system MRPeasy.
“The alternatives still looked complicated, like Sage all over again,” Mike says. “MRPeasy does what it says on the tin – it’s simple and intuitive.”
Vanquish started implementing MRPeasy around October 2024. Rather than overwhelming staff with a rapid, all-at-once rollout, the team's priority was making day-to-day work easier first.
“Within just a few months, Vanquish was online with MRPeasy and putting orders through the new system,” Mike says.
On-time delivery rate nearing 100%
The impact was felt quickly, especially on the shop floor. “People aren’t second-guessing the data anymore. Our shop floor staff have direct access to info that's relevant to them, through tablets and workstation computers. It has stopped people running around trying to source information.”
One of the most immediate improvements came from live inventory tracking. With MRPeasy, stock levels are always accurate and shared across the organization in real-time. Vanquish's previous worry of double booking or using the wrong materials is a thing of the past.
Order handling, which once required constant workarounds and duplicated data entry, is now also much more straightforward. “We can load orders and book materials in seconds or use a customer-issued part number with zero workarounds,” says Mike.
With clearer scheduling and fewer production errors, Vanquish's delivery performance improved dramatically. “Our OTIF is now constantly above 99%,” Mike says. “It’s never been better!"
25% revenue growth without a spike in headcount
The results speak for themselves. Mike Sutcliffe sums up his experience: "In the first year after going live, we grew in revenue by 25% while adding just one or two new employees. There's no way we could have done that without MRPeasy. Certainly not without bringing in a lot more people. So, my advice is to just go for it! There’s nothing that would hold me back from going ahead with this system as an SME.”
For more information, visit www.MRPeasy.com.
