We undertook our biggest internal project to date this year when we began extensive development of our IT infrastructure . The new system will bring our ‘ just one click ’ ambition to life , with all sales , procurement , manufacturing and delivery processes being triggered by just one touch of a button . When a Partner completes an order on our OSS system , a works order is automatically created and production begins . The materials that are needed will be deducted automatically from the stock list and reordered via a PO being automatically raised to replenish stock . The correct spec is sent to the machinery in the factory and manufacturing then takes place before delivery is scheduled , and all of this is achieved without any human involvement in the process , just the click of a button .

This optimised efficiency of stock control ensures a constant supply of materials to the production line and eliminates the chance of products becoming out of stock for our 1,200 Partners up and down the UK , meaning that our ‘ on time , in full ’ promise can be trusted . This in turn reduces cashflow concerns for them , so Partners can take on more jobs and invest in new business ,

trends can be tracked and informed decisions can be made , helping improve Origin ’ s offering in line with market trends and _requirements

knowing that when needed , Origin will be able to supply .

This project was no mean feat . It required the full automation of our processes , some of which were at least partly manual , so there was a big overhaul holistically . Multiple systems were synchronised , feeding into one piece of cohesive software . Whilst this switchover happened , systems were partially affected , but we knew that this was a necessary step for the business in order to continue to offer an outstanding service to our Partners and knew it would be worth it in the long run – and it is .

Brexit and the pandemic , as well as supply shortages and demand increases , left us with problems to overcome , but our desire to improve efficiency , grow and innovate will always be there , and this is what drove this IT project forward . We are proud of the significant difference it is making .

Our 55,000ft ² warehouse facility , The Ark , played a considerable role in us being able to invest in this project , with our storage capacity increasing by 82 per cent . Our Partners now have a huge advantage over the competition , as we were able to retain industry leading lead times , as well as supply chain integrity .

With the increased inventory from the Ark , as well as our other storage and manufacturing facilities , it is possible to automatically call materials as required and

deliver to the factory line to ensure they can keep manufacturing . Replenishing stock to these storage facilities is also automated , meaning that when stock falls below a certain level , more is ordered without any human involvement . This means that our supply chain is not disrupted and manufacturing and delivery to Partners never stops .

Our manufacturing processes were also improved by this automation . When a Partner ’ s order is placed via OSS , our

system will create a works order based off the BOM and sizes and specifications will be sent to the machinery on the shop floor . Our factories are now all set up in this format , with the OW-70 and OW-80 windows being last to go live in September . All of these transactions provide invaluable data that we keep extensive records of , and from there , trends can be tracked and informed decisions can be made , helping improve Origin ’ s offering in line with market trends and requirements .

Every member of the Origin team has played a part in us getting this and their hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed . This process has highlighted our critical business processes and from this , we have the opportunity to continue to learn , optimise and improve every element of our business .

www . origin-global . com