Turning 10-Week Delays into Day-One Action with E-Max ERP

Turnspeed Precision Engineering is a UK-based subcontract manufacturer specialising in the high-volume production of precision-turned and milled components for demanding engineering sectors. Established in 1972 and operating from its facility in Yeovil, Somerset, the company supports customers across automotive, motorsport, hydraulics, fluid transfer and aerospace supply chains.

Turnspeed offers a comprehensive range of manufacturing services, including CNC multi-spindle and single-spindle turning, CNC milling, finishing and in-house plating. By bringing these processes together under one roof, the business provides customers with a streamlined, end-to-end solution that reduces lead times, improves quality control and minimises reliance on external suppliers.

The company has made significant ongoing investment in advanced CNC machinery, automation and production technology to support high-output manufacturing while maintaining tight tolerances and consistent quality. Backed by ISO 9001 accreditation and a strong focus on continuous improvement, Turnspeed combines capacity, capability and technical expertise to deliver reliable, cost-effective solutions for complex component requirements.

Prior to implementing E-Max, Turnspeed was operating on a legacy, bespoke system that had originally been developed in-house in the 1990s. While it had supported the business for many years, it had become increasingly outdated and was heavily reliant on a single individual to maintain it, creating a growing risk to the business.

As Steve Larcombe, Operations Manager, Turnspeed, explained, “the whole business was relying on one man to maintain this bespoke system and time was limited.”

An earlier attempt to introduce a replacement system had failed to gain traction due to usability issues and lack of support. As a result, Turnspeed found itself operating across multiple systems, leading to fragmented processes, inconsistent data and limited visibility across the business.

This lack of visibility had a direct impact on day-to-day operations. With thousands of order lines in the system, teams were forced to manually review large volumes of data just to understand what needed to be produced and when.

“We had to manually interrogate 10–15 thousand lines of information to work out what we should be making and when,” said Tony Hilton, Production Manager, Turnspeed.

Without clear visibility, production planning became reactive rather than controlled. In some cases, overdue orders were only identified when customers chased them. Production schedules were frequently disrupted as priorities shifted based on late visibility of demand.

“We had hundreds of thousands of pounds of overdue orders that we didn’t even really know were overdue,” added Steve.

Stock control was also impacted. With no reliable view of demand, the business held excess materials as a precaution, tying up cash unnecessarily and increasing costs.

As a result, Turnspeed needed a modern, reliable ERP solution that could bring visibility, structure and control back into the business.

Turnspeed’s introduction to E-Max ERP came through trusted industry contacts while they were exploring ways to improve visibility and control across the business. Having experienced challenges with previous systems, the team were looking for a solution that was both practical to use and capable of supporting day-to-day operations.

E-Max was recommended during discussions with external partners, and from the first demonstration it was clear the system offered something different - particularly in how it presented live, actionable information.

As Steve explained, “we were sold from the moment we saw the dashboards… I haven’t seen another system that offers that level of communication and versatility.”

The ability to move from limited visibility to a system that clearly highlighted demand and priorities was a decisive factor.

“We went from a system that didn’t tell us anything… to a system that was telling us everything,” Steve added.

By implementing E-Max, Turnspeed established a single, integrated platform to manage orders, production and purchasing, providing the foundation for more controlled and efficient operations.

Following the introduction of E-Max, Turnspeed has transformed its operations, moving from reactive, manual processes to a structured, data-driven approach with clear visibility and control across the business.

One of the most immediate improvements has been visibility of demand. Orders are now visible as soon as they are entered into the system, enabling the production team to take action from day one.

“As soon as an order goes on the system, if we need to manufacture it, or there’s a manufacturing demand for, it appears in front of the Production Controllers, to do something about it.” 

This has fundamentally changed the speed at which the business operates. Where demand was once identified late, Turnspeed can now review requirements immediately and move quickly into production planning and purchasing.

The impact of that change is significant. Before E-Max, limited visibility meant delays could build unnoticed, with production schedules constantly being reshuffled as priorities changed.

“Previously we had wasted 10 weeks by the time that a customer said, ‘are you ever going to send us these parts?’”

Now, that same demand is visible far earlier in the process.

“We are then purchasing material on day two,” Steve explained.

By bringing decisions forward from weeks into the process to the earliest stages of planning, E-Max has helped Turnspeed move from reactive firefighting to a far more stable and controlled workflow.

Communication across the business has also improved, with processes embedded into the system and less reliance on manual coordination between departments.

“All that old manual manipulation and communication is just cut out completely.”

This is reinforced by stronger integration between sales and production, ensuring that all orders are visible and acted upon.

“There’s not an order that goes on that we don’t see or know about,” added Tony.

Quoting has also been transformed, both in speed and efficiency. The original process had required multiple people and was slowed by limited access to information.

Steve noted: “Previously, there was two of us trying to use the old system. We couldn't keep up. We always had 50 or 100 quotes backlog because it was just clunky. Now I'm probably doing at least 98% of the quotations on my own in 50% of my time.” 

With E-Max, all relevant information is now accessible in one place, allowing much faster turnaround.

“Previously… we would be talking about 15 to 30 minutes just to repeat something,” he explained. “Now I can go straight in, generate a quotation on a job we’ve done before in under five minutes, and move on to something else.”

The system also provides access to detailed historical job information, allowing the team to review how previous work has performed and use that insight when quoting.

“I can look back and see how well that job’s run… the vast amount of information that's available to me just by going to one place: you know, last time we quoted that, the last sales order quantity, times, all of it. It's just there right in front of me.” 

These improvements have also introduced greater structure and discipline into the way work is set up, ensuring that accurate information flows through the business from the outset.

“At the point of quoting, we are forced to set things up for people downstream. The system is so much slicker in the regard that you can't go past point one and pass on inaccurate data. We have to start at the beginning and do it completely right. The amount of jobs now that just progress through the business without interference after the point of quotation is incredible, whereas before everything seemed to need nurturing and retouching and manipulating to get anywhere.” 

These changes have improved efficiency across key operational areas, particularly in purchasing and stock control. With a clearer view of demand, the business has reduced excess stock holding and avoided tying up cash unnecessarily.

“We were probably stock holding at least 50% more bar than required,” Steve acknowledged.

Together, these improvements have reduced manual workload, improved responsiveness and given Turnspeed far greater control over its operations.

Since implementing E-Max, Turnspeed has achieved measurable improvements in efficiency, productivity and overall business performance. The move to a fully integrated system has enabled the company to operate more effectively while continuing to grow.

“We are now turning over probably 10 to 15% more than we were… with 20 less people. And E-Max has been part of that journey. The efficiency in the system has made us realise, ‘we don’t need to replace that person, we can cope, nobody’s backed up,” said Steve.

This improvement reflects a significant increase in operational efficiency, with the business able to process more work with fewer resources by removing manual intervention and improving visibility across its processes.

Key areas such as purchasing, stores and production have all benefited from more structured workflows and better access to information, allowing the team to make faster, more informed decisions.

In addition to internal efficiencies, Turnspeed is now better positioned to respond to customer demand. Faster quoting, improved planning and greater control over production have strengthened service levels and enhanced competitiveness in demanding supply chains.

Reflecting on the overall impact, the scale of change has been significant.

“The transformation over the last 18 months has been incredible,” said Steve.

“E-Max fits what we do perfectly.”

Having already transformed its operations with E-Max, Turnspeed took the next step by moving from the desktop version to the cloud platform, ensuring the system can continue to support the business as it evolves.

The decision was driven by a combination of performance, security and long-term scalability. Maintaining an on-site server was becoming increasingly restrictive, both in terms of speed and ongoing management, while also introducing risk around downtime and data security.

As Steve explained, “we were having to maintain a server on site… and these servers do have a lifespan… we were stuffing it with more and more information all the time.”

Moving to the cloud has removed this burden and provided a more robust and flexible platform for the business.

“The speed and versatility of the online version far surpasses the desktop,” Steve added.

The transition itself was straightforward, with minimal disruption to day-to-day operations and a familiar interface allowing users to continue working without the need for extensive retraining.

Since moving to the cloud platform, Turnspeed has also benefited from improved support responsiveness and easier system access, giving the business confidence that its ERP system is future-proofed and able to scale with continued growth.

Looking ahead, Turnspeed is continuing to build on this foundation. As the business moves through 2026 and into 2027, the next stage will focus on using E-Max to gain deeper insight into performance across the operation.

As Steve advised, this will include monitoring job performance and employee efficiency, enabling the business to better understand how time is spent and identify opportunities to improve productivity.

From where the business started to where it is today, there’s no doubt the impact E-Max has had on Turnspeed has been significant. Tony Hilton, Production Manager at Turnspeed, summed it up simply:

“Revolutionary.”