Case Studies

Linread Northbridge

Linread Northbridge Redditch (LNR) is part of the McKechnie Group.  LNR manufacture fasteners for the aerospace industry from raw materials such as titanium, stainless steel and other exotic alloys.

LNR's current system was written some 12 years ago, is not Year 2000 compliant and has been extensively modified to meet LNR's requirements.

CCL were initially retained to assist in a specification and selection process.  This involved:

  • Interviews with key staff to determine the key requirements for the new system
  • Production of a detailed Specification of Requirements and ITT
  • Short-listing of potential suppliers
  • Detailed demonstrations with three suppliers
  • Negotiation of contract terms and conditions

It became clear that key requirements were full traceability and quality control allied to customer service.  The LNR team was unanimous in their choice of Dataworks (now Epicor), using their Avante manufacturing software.

In order to meet the tight timescales required to replace the existing system before any Year 2000 problems were encountered, CCL managed a pre-implementation phase of the project to:

  • Resolve internal LNR business process issues
  • Assess the impact of Year 2000 on the current system
  • Perform a pre-implementation pilot of the Avante software to flush out any modifications and other issues pre-contract
  • Develop a contingency plan
  • Enable a fast track timescale for the project

Contracts were signed in April 1999 on a fixed price basis and with a target completion date of October 1999.  CCL was retained to manage the implementation process.

The key issues (and therefore risks) for a successful implementation were:

  • Data mapping and conversion - LNR has over 20000 parts with approved bills and routes and over 60000 parts on file
  • The part coding structure needed to be re-designed
  • LNR had decided on white paper printing for their external documentation and had identified key reports that would be written by in-house personnel - training was therefore paramount
  • LNR was, in parallel, implementing a new network for MS-Office and Admin support
  •  The Pre-Implementation Pilot identified a number of key modifications, especially relating to quality control and laboratory test reporting required by LNR's customers - these would require detailed specification, writing and testing
  • A number of cultural changes were identified affecting LNR's business processes - LNR wished to incorporate these changes using the new system as the catalyst for change

LNR had already set in place a Project Team to take responsibility for implementing their respective disciplines and training the end-users.  This team, together with Dataworks (now Epicor) consultants, is currently successfully providing the level of support and enthusiasm needed to bring the project to completion on time.

Rob Fishburn

Managing Consultant