Cambridge Electronic Industries needed an SAP Business One partner to augment its in-house capabilities. Since choosing Thinc, the team knows it has expert support it can rely upon.
Cambridge Electronic Industries (CEI) designs and manufactures connectors and cable assemblies that are sold the world over. Based in the UK and with operations in Taiwan, the independently owned business provides critical components to industries including broadcasting, defence, robotics and medical.
Head of Operations Andrew Page has been with the company for around half of its 43-year history. With his background in engineering, he’s hand-on when it comes to CEI’s business systems. He’s also well placed to explain how the strong relationship between the company and Thinc has developed.
With CEI growing quickly, the need to move to a new business system was becoming increasingly apparent. For many years, CEI had been operating on a bespoke system developed by a former finance director. When that individual left, the company was left without the knowledge required to maintain or evolve the system.
At the same time, regulatory changes were coming. The imminent arrival of Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules posed a compliance risk, as the in-house system couldn’t support this new reporting requirement.
The company looked to the market to see what solutions were out there, considering offerings from Sage and Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 platform. Ultimately, SAP Business One was selected as the best fit for CEI’s complex manufacturing and distribution requirements.
Unfortunately, another hurdle was just around the corner. An initial attempt to implement SAP Business One with another partner stalled following the departure of a key consultant, resulting in delays and lost momentum at a critical point in the financial year.
“We had effectively lost three months,” explains Andrew. “So we decided to take the implementation on ourselves.”
CEI was clear on its requirements and that the right decision has been taken in choosing SAP Business One. The business required a modern, flexible and scalable ERP solution that could support compliance, manage international operations and provide a foundation for future growth.
However, the experience with the technology provider had shown that CEI also needed a partner whose support could be relied upon.
“We needed something well-supported, scalable, and flexible, with the right partner behind it,” says Andrew.
At this point, CEI turned to Thinc. Work recommenced to implement SAP Business One as the core ERP platform, supported by Boyum’s usability package, which allowed the business to configure and extend functionality without heavy development. Andrew led much of the implementation internally, ensuring the system was operational, with Thinc helping to finetune the configuration.
From here, it was all about finding the right balance for our relationship. Given the capabilities of Andrew and his team, a flexible IT support model was introduced, enabling the business to access expert support when required, while retaining day-to-day control. This has since evolved into a broader partnership, including ongoing account management and additional services such as cyber security.
“Thinc effectively picked up the pieces and gave us a support model that works with how we operate,” explains Andrew. “I handle a lot myself, which keeps our support costs down. But if I were to leave, we know that Thinc could step in and scale its support accordingly. That flexibility is important.
“From a support perspective, Thinc has always been available when needed – even outside normal hours. Even then, the team have been responsive and effective.
“Having an account manager has also improved things for us. Regular check-ins give us all visibility of where we are and where we’re heading, rather than only engaging when something goes wrong.”
The impact of SAP Business One has been felt across the entire organisation, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, visibility and scalability. Processes that were previously fragmented and manual have been consolidated into a single system.
Data is now entered once and flows through the business, eliminating the need for rekeying and reducing the risk of error. Paper usage has dropped dramatically: what used to be 10-15 reams a month is now typically one.
Reporting is now transparent and intuitive, allowing users to drill down into data and quickly understand performance. This has improved both operational control and strategic decision-making.
Operationally, the business is now better equipped to handle the complexities of multi-market trading, manufacturing and drop shipping. The system has supported expansion into new product areas while enabling greater consistency and control.
“SAP Business One supports us well, particularly through features like Bill of Materials and MRP,” Andrew explains. “For example, we’ve automated much of our process with overseas suppliers. Orders are generated, components are assembled, and products are shipped efficiently with minimal manual intervention.”
The shift has not just been technological, but cultural. The organisation has moved away from trying to replicate legacy processes and instead embraced the capabilities of the system to drive continuous improvement.
“There’s no way we could operate as we do today on the old system,” affirms Andrew. “SAP Business One is far more capable – it allows things like copying and pasting tables, better reporting and far more flexibility.
“Having a well-supported platform like SAP Business One, combined with a partner like Thinc, gave us confidence.”
By combining a powerful ERP platform with a flexible and responsive support partner, the business has reduced operational risk, streamlined processes and built a foundation for sustainable growth.
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