Epicor Provides a Common, Integrated Architecture for the Five Thomas Dudley Businesses
Thomas Dudley, a 100-year-old family-owned manufacturing group in the UK, comprises five businesses focusing on design, manufacture, and selling: TYDE, specialising in innovative plumbing manufacturing; McDonald Diecasting Ltd, specialising in aesthetic zinc die casting and finishes; Waterfit, designing and manufacturing fittings for potable water networks; Rugby Plastics, delivering state-of-the-art plastic injection molding design and manufacture; and Thomas Dudley Foundry, a bespoke engineering cast iron foundry.
Starting as a small family run business in 1920, Thomas Dudley currently employs over 500 people with a turnover exceeding £50 million. In addition to designing and manufacturing environmentally focused water saving devices, Thomas Dudley is committed to the improvement of welfare and skills in their community, through long-term investments in UK manufacturing, and looking to adopt greener manufacturing processes. They also invest in technology designed to reduce emissions and energy consumption. Everything is manufactured in the UK, further reducing environmental costs while minimising the carbon footprint through transportation.
With Thomas Dudley overseeing the operations of five different businesses the company needs were complex. Simon Boyes, Innovation Director at Thomas Dudley, was focused on finding a long-term solution when selecting an ERP system.
“I believe that we’re a very hands-on business and very hands-on with the software. We write a lot of code, do lots of modifications to the systems, and my general attitude is that if it’s logically possible, then I should be able to deliver it. Overall, I was looking for a piece of software that would allow me to offer the business that underpinning assurance,” Boyes explained.
The things I feel that really stand-out with Epicor Kinetic is the integration functionality with customers, integration with the equipment, and the ability to deliver fully tailored user experiences by integrating the system with our own code.
Thomas Dudley needed a system where they have complete control on the operation settings and customisable to their business needs. Integration capability was a key element in the ERP selection, to address inconsistent communications across the multi-platform business architecture supporting the numerous businesses.
Thomas Dudley went live with Epicor Kinetic on-premises in 2005 and the team accessed the software from PCs and tablets. Epicor Kinetic signifcantly improved the flexibility of their delivery infrastructure by integrating with third-party logistic providers, saving Thomas Dudley over £100k per annum. “Epicor was consistently there—always able to underpin and always able to support,” Boyes said.
Being a manufacturing specific system, Epicor Kinetic assisted Thomas Dudley with granular and accurate weekly analytics reports and KPIs to enable the company to make better informed decisions and more robust and thorough plans. “Once the plan is set in the system, there’s no getting away from it. You either did it or you didn’t do it, so there’s a very clear record at the end of the week. We look at the data at the beginning of every week and that really helps guide decisions," Boyes elaborates.
One of the key benefits of Epicor Kinetic for Thomas Dudley was the flexible and customisable integration capability. “The things I feel that really stand-out with Epicor Kinetic is the integration functionality with customers, integration with the equipment, and the ability to deliver fully tailored user experiences by integrating the system with our own code,” Boyes explains.
Epicor was consistently there—always able to underpin and always able to support.
Thomas Dudley also integrate Epicor Kinetic with different eCommerce platforms, enabling them to provide real-time stock availability and improved front-end eCommerce operations. When seeking to integrate five distinct businesses, customisation and flexibility were key to driving more efficient manufacturing processes.
Looking to the future, Thomas Dudley have also invested in Epicor Advanced MES for enhanced production monitoring, planning, scheduling and maintenance management.
Epicor provides a consistent underpinning architecture for Thomas Dudley, supporting businesses within the group to run on a common platform. The most important thing to Simon Boyes is the longevity and collaborative nature of the relationship with Epicor, working working together to ensure Thomas Dudley continues to thrive and grow in a constantly changing marketplace.