Metaltech PrecisionCASE STUDY

Metaltech Precision Ltd off er a range of high-precision machining and fabrication facilities rarely matched in the sub-contract industry.

By implementing lean manufacturing techniques and shop fl oor data-collection, they are able to remain at the forefront of sub-contract manufacturing.

Metaltech have developed an operating culture that relentlessly pursues the elimination of waste, variability and infl exibility which is required to compete in today’s world-wide marketplace.

Core to Metaltech’s success has been a commitment to using leading edge technology to assist in providing a quality of service to our customers and marketplace.

Paul Smith, IT and Planning Manager explains:

“We have a commitment to service for our customers, employees and suppliers that is paramount to the way in which we do business, system availability is therefore crucial to our day to day operations.”

“We realised that lack of access to the system can be caused by a number of known and often simple problems. Business continuity planning isn’t just about preparing for massive, worst-case scenarios, it is about being able to manufacture andtransact effectively following even minor issues such as server hardware breakdowns.

As a lean manufacturing organisation, time is of the essence and speed of access to planning, material and production data is crucial at all times.

Understanding our data and processes, K3 Starcom have been able to help us identify potential threats and plan for them in advance of them ever becoming an issue for us or our customers.”

“The cloud is being touted everywhere as the saviour of all things, but realistically, all we are interested in was how it could remove the time wasted on tinkering with it as opposed to thinking about how it could drive the business forward.

On that score, K3 Starcom did a great job of helping us understand what the cloud is and what it can (and more importantly can’t) deliver and the basic premise about availability, security and a faster recovery time made it the natural choice.”

“The cloud has matured and the new wave of technology can really assist and help SME companies like ourselves do business better, gone are the days when leading edge technology is only within reach of large corporates.”

“Like many manufacturing organisations of our size Metaltech had historically taken daily backup tapes which had started to cause problems and concerns. Over time the sheer mass and volume of information had increased to such an extent that it was taking several hours to run an overnight back-up and the entire process was very cumbersome, time consuming and added unnecessary risk to our business.

It is often way too easy to say ‘We use a back-up tape’ but when we looked into the costs for recovering data it could easily run into tens of thousands of pounds, needing the involvement of data recovery specialists and with no guarantee of ever getting it back.”

“ Protecting 30 years of growth & knowledge is critical for Metaltech precision”

“We asked ourselves if we really wanted to take the risk of losing the details for every customer account, each stock record, all sales and transaction history by storing it on what is essentially the same medium as a magnetic Beta-max tape!”

“By comparison, the cost of implementing a robust business continuity plan pails into insignifi cance when balanced against the risk of losing our core information. Tapes are of course one way of protecting ourselves but when they go wrong, the consequences can be catastrophic.”

“We also knew that having a full back-up tape was potentially only part of the problem, if the server was ever down for a number of days then where exactly would we restore the tape to? We’d heard the horror stories of back-up tapes failing or worst still, where the tape works but there was no server upon which to restore it!”

“K3 Starcom have taken the time to get to know us, they know our core business systems, how they work and most importantly, they understand how we want to grow as a business and are prepared to help us get there. The support provided to Metaltech is excellent, I can’t fault it.

Every issue is logged, tracked and always resolved to my satisfaction.”

“I’ve always been conscious that I spent a lot of time worrying about it, but, by using this solution I remove this fundamentally crucial IT requirement and focus instead on strategic initiatives that drive the company forward.

Metaltech create long lasting relationships with our customers and suppliers, fostering partnerships that mutually deliver on our promise of total quality.”

“In the case of Syspro and K3 Starcom, ‘Managed Service’ does exactly what it says on the tin and we all benefi t because of it.”

“ Before implementing the Syspro ERP application, we ran the business on a series of spreadsheets and with it support being provided on an ad-hoc basis by a local IT provider. When we chose Syspro we also chose to work with K3 Starcom and I must say that their input has been invaluable to our business.”

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