Unifying IT Systems

One of the first major improvement projects Process Manager Rox Newton took on when she took on the role at Scotts Timber Engineering nine months ago was to unify the IT systems at the company’s two factories at Thrapston and Redditch in the East and West Midlands.

As with many businesses, inherited legacy systems from a period of organic growth aren’t always as efficient as they should be. Roxanne’s challenge was to change the way we host core business and customer information, migrating onto a single system from the two that were in place.

The result is that the business has been able to centralise operations planning for both manufacturing sites, so both have access to the same information and more importantly, to give customers of the timber engineering business an improved service as well as a single point of contact for their order.

Supported by Mitek’s Darren Munro and Elliott Sutton from Dufeu IT, the project represented a major investment for Scotts, but a necessary one to protect its service levels and remain competitive in the top tier of UK Housebuilding’s truss and joist suppliers. “Our customers are definitely seeing the benefits of these improvements and enjoying a smoother service from our teams,” explained Rox.

Of course there are internal benefits to this process improvement internally too, she continued: “Reporting from the single system is faster and more accurate, and helps us to understand our position in the market.”