Business Software

Custom ERP Rollout for a Mid-Sized Manufacturer

From quote to invoice in one system: production planning, stock, purchasing and job costing for a 180-person fabrication business.

Overview

Ashford Precision Fabrication makes laser-cut and welded steel components for construction and agricultural equipment makers. With around 180 staff and two workshops, it was running on an accounting package, a job-tracking spreadsheet and a lot of whiteboards. Nobody could say with confidence what a job had really cost or when it would ship.

The brief

The business needed an ERP system shaped around make-to-order manufacturing:

  • turn quotes into works orders with bills of materials and routings
  • schedule work across machines and shifts
  • track raw material stock, offcuts and purchasing
  • capture labour and machine time for true job costing
  • pass invoices and costs cleanly to the finance system

What we built

We delivered the ERP in three phases. Phase one covered sales orders, works orders, BOMs and inventory. Phase two added capacity-based production scheduling and shop-floor data capture on rugged tablets, where operators clock on and off operations by scanning a job card. Phase three introduced purchasing, supplier management and job costing reports.

Rather than replacing the accounting package, we integrated with it so invoices, supplier bills and cost postings flow automatically. That kept the finance team on a tool they trusted and reduced project risk.

Technical approach

The ERP is built on .NET and ASP.NET Core with an Angular front end and SQL Server, deployed on the client's Azure tenancy. Shop-floor tablets use a progressive web app that tolerates patchy workshop Wi-Fi.

Each phase went live on its own, with a two-week parallel run and on-site support. If you are weighing up an off-the-shelf package against a custom build, our ERP development service and the article on ERP vs CRM are useful starting points.

    • Project facts

      • Client

      • Industry

      • Category

      • Duration

      • Completed

      • Services

      • Technologies

        • .NET

          We use Microsoft .NET to build fast, secure and maintainable business software: web APIs, ERP and POS back ends, background services and cross-platform apps.

        • ASP.NET Core

          ASP.NET Core is our default framework for secure web applications and REST APIs: fast, cross-platform and well suited to complex business logic and integrations.

        • Angular

          Angular development for large, form-heavy enterprise applications where consistent structure, strong typing and long-term maintainability across teams matter most.

        • SQL Server

          SQL Server and Azure SQL power many of our ERP, POS and reporting systems, offering strong transactional integrity, rich tooling and tight integration with .NET.

        • Microsoft Azure

          We design, build and run applications on Microsoft Azure: App Service, containers, Azure SQL, Functions and Azure OpenAI, with security and cost control built in.

      Gallery

      Screenshots & walkthrough

      • Production scheduling board

      • Job costing report

      • Shop-floor tablet clock-on

      Features

      Key features we delivered

      • Quote-to-works-order flow

        Accepted quotes become works orders with bills of materials and routings in a single step.

      • Capacity-based scheduling

        Planners schedule operations across machines and shifts with clear visibility of bottlenecks.

      • Shop-floor data capture

        Operators scan job cards on rugged tablets to record labour and machine time per operation.

      • Inventory and offcut tracking

        Raw material, offcuts and finished goods are tracked by location and batch.

      • Purchasing and suppliers

        Material shortages generate purchase suggestions linked to approved suppliers and lead times.

      • Job costing

        Actual material, labour and machine costs are compared with quoted costs for every job.

      Case study

      Read the full story

      • Retail Chain POS Modernisation

        How a 60-store retail chain replaced ageing on-premise tills with an offline-capable cloud POS, cutting checkout times by 35% and ending overnight price syncs.

      • School Group Digital Transformation

        How a five-school trust replaced six disconnected tools with one school management platform and parent app, cutting admin time on attendance and fees by around 40%.

      What our clients say

      • We used to lose half a day's takings every time a store's broadband went down. Since the new tills went in, outages barely register, and head office can change a price at lunchtime and see it on every shelf-edge promotion by the afternoon.

      Solutions

      Built on our solutions

      • ERP Software

        Modular ERP software that connects finance, purchasing, inventory, production, sales and HR in one system, configured to your processes and rolled out in phases.

      • Inventory Management Software

        Inventory management software for multi-location stock control: barcode scanning, purchasing, batch and serial tracking, stock takes and demand-based reorder suggestions.

      • Accounting Software

        Accounting software for SMEs and multi-entity groups: ledgers, invoicing, bank reconciliation, VAT and tax, approvals and management reporting, integrated with your operations.

      Services

      Services behind this project

      • ERP Development

        Custom ERP development for manufacturers, distributors and multi-site businesses: inventory, purchasing, production, finance and reporting in one system built around your processes.

      • Custom Software Development

        Custom software development for SMEs and enterprises: bespoke business systems, legacy modernisation and product builds, delivered by an experienced .NET, web, mobile and AI team.

      • Business Process Automation

        Business process automation for finance, operations, HR and sales: workflow automation, system integrations and AI-assisted document handling that remove manual, repetitive tasks.

      FAQ

      Frequently asked questions

      • Why build a custom ERP instead of buying one?

        Make-to-order manufacturers often find packaged ERPs force awkward workarounds for quoting, routings and job costing. A custom build fits the real process, but costs more up front, so we usually recommend it only when the process is a genuine competitive advantage. Our custom software cost guide explains the main cost drivers.

      • How do you reduce risk when rolling out an ERP?

        Phase it. Here each of three phases went live separately with a two-week parallel run, and we integrated with the existing accounting system rather than replacing everything at once.

      More work

      Other projects

      • Modern POS System for a Regional Retail Chain

        A cloud-connected point-of-sale platform with offline tills, central pricing and real-time stock visibility, built for a 60-store retail chain replacing ageing on-premise terminals.

      • Smart Education ERP

        A unified education management platform for schools, colleges, universities, and multi-campus institutions, covering admissions, attendance, timetabling, fee management, examinations, academic records, and parent and student portals in one integrated system.

      • Clinic Appointment Mobile App

        A patient booking app and clinic scheduling back office for a group of private outpatient clinics, with online booking, reminders and secure pre-visit forms.

      Insights

      Related articles

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