SPONSORED BY EXEL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
MULTI-TASKING
MAY/JUN 2020 IT IN FOCUS
A sub-contracting specialist successfully implements Exel Computer Systems’
EFACS E/8 ERP solution, while also responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
CONTRIBUTOR EXEL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
how the new system would benefi t the
business day to day. “We are changing systems
to increase visibility and support productivity,”
she says. “Our current systems do not give us
the planning and fl exibility which the business
needs, therefore requiring more manual input.
EFACS will be integrated and will provide realtime
data.”
CEO Marie Cooper comments: “Although
we didn’t make our initial target date, we still
saw the project through to
the end, despite everything
happening at once:
lockdown measures and the
manufacturing of medical
devices parts we had never
made before. A project of
this magnitude must be
done right, and under the
circumstances the team
performed exceptionally
well. We believe EFACS E/8 will enable the
controls and provide the insights we need to
implement our strategy and grow the business
in the future”.
Exel is truly excited to welcome CBE+ to the
EFACS community, the team at CBE+ did an
incredible job to implement EFACS E/8 during
the challenging lockdown period.
Exel itself, of course, was not immune to the
e ects of the COVID-19 restrictions. However,
the company managed, within one day, to
transform the business from a single site with
102 employees, to one where every member
of sta was set up to work from home.
Not only is this quite a feat, in the current
climate, it emphasises the benefi ts of secure
and 100% available hosted ERP installations
over on-premises installs. Find out more at the
Exel Computer Systems website.
www.exel.uk
CBE+, a specialist sub-contractor operating from
modern, purpose-built facilities in Chesterfi eld,
specialise in CNC machining, Electroless Nickel
Plating, Gears and Laboratory services. The group
was formed by Cooper Brown Enterprises who
invested in four separate businesses to bring
integrated supply chains to global markets including the
aerospace and oil & gas sectors.
Part of the continual investment plan at CBE+ involved
the implementation of a modern, comprehensive ERP solution
that would meet the needs of all divisions within the group –
as well as to unite them.
The solution of choice? EFACS E/8 from
Nottingham-based system author and provider,
Exel Computer Systems plc.
There was, however, one specifi c challenge
to overcome in order to e ectively implement
their solution of choice - the COVID19
pandemic – or more accurately, the lockdown
in place due to this global crisis.
Implementation was put at risk by the
sudden work and travel restrictions imposed,
understandably, by the government, with project team
members self-isolating or unable to attend meetings in person.
In addition, and to the credit of CBE+, they experienced
a particularly busy time due to their involvement with the
VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, whereby tens of thousands
of parts had to be manufactured within very tight deadlines to
support the NHS.
Nevertheless, the team at CBE+ allocated extra days and
weekends to continue their work of transferring data, testing
functions and making sure the system was ready to go live.
The postponement of the ‘go live’ date was minimised, which
CBE+ sees as a great achievement considering the challenges
the project team faced.
The system successfully went live on 1 June – despite the
rather unique setbacks.
Working alongside CBE+ during the implementation was
the system author, Exel Computer Systems plc. Exel’s EFACS
E/8 o ered everything CBE+ required to monitor and control
an ever-expanding operation that brings together multiple
processes, whilst maintaining full traceability of products; a
necessity when supplying the aerospace industry.
CBE+ would make use of the broad range of business
functions available in EFACS E/8, such as Product Management,
Change Control, Manufacturing, Production Planning, Material
Requirements Planning (MRP), Finance, Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), amongst others.
Lindsay Atkins, CBE+ group production manager, explains
34 www.manufacturingmanagement.com
/www.exel.uk
/www.manufacturingmanagement.com