Case Study: Computer hardware manufacturer doubles revenue since implementing ERP

Bristol’s computer hardware manufacturer, Exacta Technologies, needed software to support its growth while building increasingly complex products and processes. “Since we started using MRPeasy, we have achieved over 100% growth in revenue,” says Chris Landen, Managing Director.

Building custom hardware platforms and overclocked trading servers

Exacta Technologies Group is a computer hardware manufacturer from Bristol, UK. The business has two divisions: Exacta Technologies and Blackcore.

Exacta Technologies focuses on building custom hardware platforms tailored to customers’ software requirements, while Blackcore specialises in high-performance, overclocked trading servers used in electronic trading environments.

According to Managing Director Chris Landen, the group’s strength lies in its ability to design, build, and deliver complete systems under one operational model – from engineering and manufacturing through to system integration and fulfilment.

Self-implementing a new manufacturing ERP

Prior to 2019, Exacta used Sage to manage accounting and inventory. However, as production complexity increased, the lack of manufacturing-specific functionality became a barrier to further growth. After exploring several options, they chose MRPeasy on account of its robust functionality and its native integration with Xero.

“MRPeasy stood out because of its excellent balance of user-friendliness and depth of functionality expected from much larger systems,” Landen explains. “It gave us the tools we needed without the complexity or cost of much larger systems.”

Landen led the ERP implementation internally. Although initially daunting, the vast amount of support materials available on MRPeasy’s website enabled him to figure everything out on his own.

“Moving on to a new system was a challenge, due to the complexity of our operation” he says. “We manage large numbers of BOMs, including matrix BOMs, and deal with subcontracting and multi-stage production. But MRPeasy gave us the flexibility we needed”.

An affordable system that enables control and visibility

Five years after the implementation, Exacta Technologies has 66 users set up on MRPeasy’s Unlimited version. Even at this number of users on the most expensive package, Landen maintains that the software remains affordable.

“MRPeasy does a lot for what it costs,” he says. “There are systems that cost far more and don’t give you meaningfully better functionality.”

According to Landen, some of MRPeasy’s biggest benefits are the structure it introduces into a business as well as the visibility it provides.

“We now have standardised processes and clear visibility across production, stock, and purchasing,” he says. “This allows us to coordinate more effectively and reduce manual errors and bottlenecks.”

MRPeasy’s BOM functionality is something that Landen highlights consistently: in addition to simple single-level bills of materials, the system allows users to create and manage multi-level and configurable BOMs, as well as manage BOM versions and revisions.

“Our product set is large and complex,” he states. “MRPeasy allows us to manage multi-level and configurable BOMs while controlling revisions and engineering changes properly.”

MRPeasy has also enabled Exacta to get control over their inventory and purchasing, which enables them to avoid shortages and production stoppages.

“We have continuous visibility into what components we hold and what’s required next,” Landen maintains. “That’s been invaluable when dealing with long global lead times and constrained supply chains.”

Landen emphasises that MRPeasy has substantially improved the company’s internal processes, which has consequently had a positive effect on their customer satisfaction.

“We’re able to quote faster and schedule more accurately,” Landen says. “That directly improves delivery reliability and customer communication.”

Doubling revenue and tripling headcount

Perhaps most importantly, MRPeasy has provided Exacta Technologies the operational backbone and focus that supports their rapid expansion and increasing order volumes.

“Since we started using MRPeasy, we have achieved over 100% growth in revenue,” Landen says. “And we have almost tripled our employee count from 25 to 70 without adding the same proportion of administrative overhead.”

While Exacta has grown at a breakneck speed, the company has no plans of slowing down. While the group is currently going through a restructuring, their target revenue for this year is a whopping £20 million.

As for recommendations to other manufacturers looking to support their growth with digital tools, Landen is unambiguous: “I recommend MRPeasy. It delivers far more capability than you might expect for its size and price. But like any ERP, you need to implement it properly — take your time, structure your data well, and integrate it with your wider systems where possible.”