Case Study: Fire protection manufacturer grows by 25% first year after ERP adoption

After replacing accounting software and spreadsheets with a modern system, Vanquish Hardware Protection saw a massive revenue boost in a single year without scaling headcount.

Protecting hardware on fire doors

Vanquish Hardware Protection is a UK-based manufacturing company that produces intumescent fire protection products – materials that expand when exposed to heat to help prevent the spread of fire. The company operates in a highly niche area of the fire protection market, specialising in protecting fire door hardware. The products are designed to sit discreetly behind hinges, around lock mechanisms, and with other hardware to protect the components and help retain the door’s structural integrity in case of fire.

Rapid growth exposed faults in internal processes

In the early days, Vanquish utilised Sage 50 in combination with spreadsheets for its production, stock, and order management – a makeshift production system it had inherited from the company’s predecessor business. The system worked reasonably well with a low order volume, but as volume increased, it became a clear bottleneck.

“Our processes relied heavily on manual coordination – from scheduling in Excel to managing labelling and gathering production information,” explains Sales Director Mike Sutcliffe. “While this approach supported the business for a time, it became clear that it wasn’t scalable for our growing operation.”

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.

The impact was felt quickly, especially on the shop floor. Instead of relying on printouts as before, the production team could now see live data like work orders, specifications, and stock availability, all in one place. “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.”

On-time delivery rate nearing 100%

One of the most immediate improvements came from live inventory tracking. With MRPeasy, stock levels are always accurate and shared across the organisation 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.

Mike also lists the ability to attach work files and specifications within work orders as a core benefit for the Vanquish team. Thanks to the built-in OneDrive integration, MRPeasy allows production teams to stay within the same app to get access to all relevant information regarding any build. “That direct OneDrive link in the order has been incredibly useful for the workshop floor.”

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.”