Customer: Union Fasteners
Location: Salisbury
Industries: Industrial fasteners
Contact: Tara Nicholls, General Manager
Overview
Union Fasteners, with over 40 years of industry experience stands as the preferred fastener supplier in the United Kingdom. Their commitment to producing high-quality products on time has solidified their position as a reliable partner in the fastener industry. Union Fasteners combines unmatched engineering expertise with top-notch manufacturing capabilities, making them the go-to choice for fastener solutions in the UK.
Background
Union Fasteners operates across a diverse spectrum of industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, defense, and construction, Union Fasteners is renowned for its ability to swiftly create tailor-made fasteners and solutions while prioritising customer needs. Their commitment to producing high-quality products on time has solidified their position as a reliable partner in the fastener industry.
What sets Union Fasteners apart from the competition is their intelligent stocking system that learns and anticipates customer needs, resulting in cost and time savings. This agility in the market aligns with their commitment to innovation, product excellence, and exceptional customer service.
With a steadfast commitment to quality, all products are machined in house using their extensive range of CNC capacity alongside the new sliding head machine that was invested in just recently, with frequent collaboration with local hot and cold forging companies.
Selection Process
Tara Nicholls, General Manager at Union Fasteners, sheds light on their journey towards selecting Fitfactory as their internal production MRP system. Prior to Fitfactory, the company operated with Netsuite, an ERP cloud-based system. While some aspects of Netsuite worked well, it wasn't a perfect fit for Union Fasteners' unique needs. Tara explained, "Some of the issues we experienced were due to the system being more suited for a multi national company. The system had us saving things outside the system to save it back into the system, and from start to finish, everything was very time-consuming, even down to a quotation, causing issues with customers as we were not responding quickly enough." Recognising the need for a change, Tara and her team sought a solution that would address their specific challenges.
Tara elaborates on the transformative journey undertaken by Union Fasteners: "After our company was merged with another, we made a temporary switch to a Sage accounting system. We tolerated this as we knew it was only temporary, but it was a switch from a system that was so detailed to a system that allowed no information or links at all."
When searching for the most compatible solution provider, Union Fasteners prioritised several key factors, including ease of use for all staff, cost-effectiveness, and robust after-sales and ongoing support.
Implementing Fitfactory
Since implementing Fitfactory, Union Fasteners has witnessed significant improvements in their KPIs. Tara emphasises, "You can only capture the data if it is recorded, and the ease of data and reporting has been a godsend. I think there is nothing better than a visual aid to help motivate staff."
The main benefits of working with Fitfactory are evident in Union Fasteners' operations. Tara concludes, "Customer satisfaction has increased. They are receiving quotations back quicker, we are converting to orders easier and quicker, and the information for both Union staff and also our customer is far better than expected."
Tara also offers valuable advice to those considering a similar transition: "Prepare for export/import of your documentation, training – get as much training as you can and use the sandbox version to test everything before you go live, take it a stage at a time. It's impossible to use all the facilities in one go unless you have someone implementing all the information in one go.”
The partnership between Union Fasteners and Fitfactory showcases how a tailored solution can revolutionise production operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive success.