Client Stories

Client Stories > Manufacturing > South East Fabricators Ltd

South East Fabricators Ltd (SEFAB) are a family owned and operated business located on the outskirts of East Grinstead, West Sussex. We predominantly specialise in the manufacture of flashings, gutters, trims, and ancillaries for the roofing and cladding industry; however, we are able to carry out many other forms of sheet metal work to customer’s bespoke designs. 

SEFAB were operating a Sage 50 accounting system, plus Excel and Word, when we asked Freeman Clarke to propose a new systems solution that would enable us to: 

• ✔️ Understand the margins and costs on specific pieces of work 
• ✔️ Manage our stock holding levels 
• ✔️ Measure utilisation and team performance 
• ✔️ Streamline administration and eliminate paperwork 
• ✔️ Manage customer pricing and follow up quotes 
• ✔️ Track orders through the workshop and plan production 

Freeman Clarke drew up a long list of potential systems, and we jointly selected four suppliers to receive a Request for Proposal, ranging from larger companies (SAP, Microsoft) to more specialist SME solutions. From these proposals, we chose two to demonstrate their solution, connect us to a couple of existing customers, and develop a tailored, costed offer. The system we chose was WINMAN, a UK product with a good pedigree and user base in our industry sector. In addition, Freeman Clarke put us in touch with funding agencies that were able to defray part of the upfront cost. 

Implementation was undertaken by our own staff, working with the supplier, but we kept Freeman Clarke on a retainer basis to iron out any issues between the parties. This proved useful because the Cloud product we were sold had to be enhanced with some of the functionality we needed. As the supplier relationship grew and we became more familiar with the product, Freeman Clarke were happy to run the retainer down and just check in from time to time. The full system went live in April 2023, and we are achieving most of the benefits we were looking for. 

Nick Hobbs, Owner/MD, said:

‘We knew what we wanted to achieve but found it difficult to engage with the right suppliers. Freeman Clarke handled all that for us and guided us through the selection and implementation. I am not sure we could have done it without them.’