Syspro Provides Smooth Continuity at Thurlby Thandar

Customer Profile

Thurlby Thandar Instruments (TTi) is a major international manufacturer and distributor of electronic test and measurement equipment. Established in 1989 and located in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, its products are available in more than 50 countries. TTi also acts as a UK distributor for other leading European, North American and Japanese manufacturers, supplying complementary products that enhance its own product portfolio and provide added value to customers.

In replacing its DOS-based manufacturing system, TTi looked for a smooth transition to new technology and a solution which could be tailored to its current and future requirements.

TTi chose Syspro for its full integration capabilities and ability to provide fast, secure access to data. It was also critical to implement a system that did not require specialized in-house personnel. Syspro provides full system support and has remote access, enabling TTi staff to get on with their jobs without worrying about maintaining the IT environment.

Syspro allows TTi to match verbal and emailed customer orders with manufacturing orders. This expedites the manufacturing processes of kitting, issuing, testing, inspecting and sending the product back to stock prior to generating the sales order. When a customer posts orders on its website, they are collected and input into the system. Syspro is investigating a way to fully automate this process.

TTi uses Syspro’s Engineering Change Management module to ensure it has accurate Bills of Materials for every item it manufactures.

With a single 5,000 sq foot warehouse on site, TTi holds consignment stock in warehouses in Europe to reduce lead times. Syspro provides full visibility of stock across all these sites. The Distribution module manages demonstration stock, and there is a dedicated warehouse set up on the system.

In effect, Syspro allows TTi to set up different warehouses that provide complete visibility of all stock regardless of location. The demonstration stock warehouse, for example, is a virtual warehouse that allows the company to sell these items directly from stock.

Through Syspro, TTi manages consignment stock which is physically lodged with its European partners but owned and controlled by TTi in Huntingdon. Thanks to precise data, as soon as a unit is sold it can be transferred from the consignment warehouse to the distributor. This has the added benefit of distributors only being invoiced when an item is sold.

The Outcome

Syspro enabled TTi to centralize its business systems into a single Windows-based enterprise solution. In addition, because Syspro uses SQL Server, it provides speed and security of access, making it far more resilient than the previous system. This easy access to data makes it easier for staff to use other specialized applications.

“Because Syspro is a single solution we have substantially lower costs. We no longer have several licenses, support contracts and so on. In a nutshell, we get more and better for less.”

— Keith Pauley, Production Director, TTi