Case study: Finesse Medical streamlines processes with business management solution

17 Sept 2012

Finesse Medical specialises in the development, manufacture and marketing of a range of products used for the management of wound and skin conditions. From a 10,000 square foot factory consisting of class 8 clean room facilities, over 95% of the company's products are exported to a global network of customers.

Established in 2006, the company has driven significant growth in both employment offerings and production capabilities, growing its team to over 42 employees and experiencing 48% growth in 2011 alone. With this level of growth and intended future expansion, it was critical for the company to put in place a business management software system capable of adequately supporting and scaling with its needs.

The company was operating a basic accountancy software package which it found no longer sufficiently met its needs. Finesse Medical's Financial Director, Kevin Creighton, discussed the reasons behind the need to migrate to a new system: "The software we previously had sufficed as a basic accountancy package but as we expanded we developed multiple customer bases, multiple product ranges and multiple lines of raw material stocks. The system did not offer any advantage to managing any of the processes associated with this. It failed to offer appropriate start to finish order proceeding facilities or stock control.

"We needed a software solution that was geared towards full integration, order processing, offered materials requirement planning capabilities and, importantly, something that was flexible enough to support us going forward as a company that is dedicated to the research and development of new products.'

The company invested significant time in exploring and reviewing a number of software options but was not encouraged by the straight jacket approach and expensive quotations from initial targets. Finally, Finesse Medical was introduced to Intact iQ, a business management software solution developed by Intact Software using .NET technology. It met all requirements and offered the company a level of flexibility and customisation normally only associated with enterprise level software. It was capable of providing them with a scalable solution going forward.

Creighton confirmed that apart from fulfilling all of the requirements it also offered further benefits and attractions to the company: "Our decision to migrate to a new software solution in 2011 occurred not too long after the launch of Intact iQ, so we felt fully confident that we were getting the most up-to-date technology and this gave us the confidence that our choice would provide us with a future proof solution. One of the other big attractions of going with Intact iQ was in both it and Intact Software's flexible approach. We were offered the opportunity to tailor and customise the software to ensure maximum productivity and efficiency across all processes going forward."

With any new system implementation there is often a concern relating to uptake by employees; however the ease of use of Intact iQ ensured that all staff were confident in utilising the system from the start.

"Where previously we were operating a number of isolated systems that resulted in some processes requiring painful time commitments, we now have a completely different approach. The fully integrated Intact iQ system ensures that the whole company is up-to-date and accurate through one central database. This has allowed us to streamline our processes dramatically, new orders can now be processed and actioned in seconds and followed right through to shipping, payment and all history recorded," remarks Creighton.

Finesse Medical continues to expand and with 20-25% annual growth rate intended going forward and a doubling of their facility to 20,000 square feet in the imminent future, it is imperative that all in-house processes adequately help drive and support this expansion.

Intact iQ plays a vital role at the heart of this and provides the company with the confidence that they now have a business management software solution in place that can scale, flex and grow to support Finesse Medical’s every changing need.