The McAvoy Group Ltd Expands Throught KTP
An ambitious Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Northern Ireland company, the McAvoy Group and the Northern Ireland Technology Centre in Queen\'s University, has has a substantial impact on the firm\'s bottom line.
The main objective of the KTP was the design and implementation of a group wide e-business strategy that would encompass all aspects of the Group’s business.
McAvoy is a leading manufacturer of high quality, fast-track building solutions for clients across the commercial, government, health and education sectors. It is a family run business that has been in existence for over 35 years with a customer base extending to all parts of Ireland and Great Britain and with a growing export market.
When this Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the Northern Ireland Technology Centre commenced, the main objective was the design and implementation of a group wide e-business strategy. This was a hugely ambitious project that would encompass customer relationship management, labour tracking, knowledge based engineering, automated computer aided design and manufacture, human resources and payroll, design and build to order, enterprise resource planning and the design and implementation of a shop floor data collection and monitoring system.
“Thanks to an improved understanding of materials, processes and associated costs, and the elimination of duplicated data and effort, a substantial increase in net profit was achieved, ” said Orla Corr Managing Director of The McAvoy Group.
The Partnership has had a positive impact on all aspects of the business. For example, the value of exports due to the broadening of the product range and improved processes has led to a more competitively priced product with reduced lead-times. The introduction of streamlined business processes and improved reporting capabilities (both in terms of ease of access and range) allow the company to focus on key product ranges and their performance and suitability in the market place.
The ERP system provides faster flow of management information to allow managers and directors to make decisions based on real time information and therefore will have an impact on potential problems before they become a reality. It has also put The McAvoy
Group to the forefront of the market in terms of its customer response time and the level of services offered. All of these combined factors have translated into improved productivity and cash flow.
As a result of this partnership, the company has experienced a 65% increase in annual sales turnover, 20% increase in the annual value of export and a 200% increase in profit expected after three years.
