Carrs Tool Steels' investment in ERP has yielded a range of benefits that have helped them remain competitive

Mark Mullaly notes: “Technically, doing so was painless. We even found that we could successfully deploy Priority on Chromebooks alongside existing hardware. This helped lessen the risk and cost of enabling remote access to the system.”

The ability to maintain operations during pandemic lockdowns was critical for survival. Companies without flexible ERP systems faced:

• • Extended business shutdowns
  • Lost revenue during lockdown periods
  • Customer defection to competitors who remained operational
  • Staff furloughs and potential permanent job losses

By maintaining operations, Carrs protected revenue streams during the most challenging period. 

Operational flexibility during crisis

Priority enabled Carrs to manage multiple pandemic-related challenges:

• • Sales team working from home
  • Organizing Zoom meetings and WhatsApp groups
  • Managing new shift patterns
  • Coordinating layoffs and key worker statuses
  • Staff covering functions they had little or no previous experience with

The last point is particularly significant: Priority's integrated, user-friendly interface allowed staff to cross-train and cover unfamiliar roles during the crisis, maintaining business operations despite reduced staffing and redeployment. This agility not only helped Carrs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but enables them to be ready for any challenge, from supply chain disruptions to new tariffs.

Revenue transformation: Process-based pricing

Priority enabled fundamental changes in Carrs' business model and revenue generation:

The customization of Priority to create unique production routes for cutting and milling of each product at the quote stage represents a significant competitive advantage. The system automatically feeds accurate costing data into quotes, ensuring:

• Every service and process is captured and priced
• Profitable pricing on complex jobs
• Reliable delivery commitments
• No revenue leakage from untracked services
• Competitive advantage: Ready-milled blocks service

Priority's accurate pricing and production routing capabilities enabled Carrs to launch a lucrative new service:

• Ready-milled blocks offering and impact
• Blocks machined on all six faces
• Precision tolerances: -0+0.10mm and square to 0.1mm/m
• Engineering-grade accuracy
• Ready for immediate customer use

This improved information and service have been critical in helping Carrs offer added-value services and products. By offering ready-milled blocks machined on all six faces to engineering tolerances, Carrs has opened a lucrative and keen competitive advantage. This service differentiation moves Carrs up the value chain from commodity steel supplier to precision machining provider, commanding premium pricing while creating customer stickiness through added value. Customers pay more for ready-to-use blocks that eliminate their own machining time and setup costs.

Strategic positioning

The ready-milled service leverages Carrs' century-long heritage and technical expertise while creating barriers to competition. Competitors relying on simple weight-based pricing cannot easily replicate this offering without similar ERP capabilities for accurate costing and production management.

Process knowledge capture: From “inside someone's head” to the system

Priority solved one of Carrs' most critical vulnerabilities:

This transformation was critical during COVID when “many staff had to cover functions they had previously had little or no experience of.” The systematized processes in Priority enabled this flexibility.

Business visibility: From “inability to get accurate picture” to real-time management

Priority transformed management capability:

According to Andy Eastwood, “The major benefits are the management tools, but basically because the whole system is completely integrated, every department uses Priority. It just means that the workflow is seamless.”

Inventory optimization

While specific figures aren't disclosed, Priority addressed Carrs' inventory challenges:

Priority delivered unusual cost-effectiveness for ERP implementation:

Implementation efficiency:

• Systems manager could customize without becoming “ERP expert”
• No extended business disruption during deployment
• Ongoing operations maintained during implementation
• Internal capability developed for future modifications
• Ongoing Cost Savings

Mark Mullaly emphasizes: “I did not have to become an ERP or Priority Software expert to get the most from our investment. This is important for two reasons: Firstly, the software has become more cost-effective.”

This internal customization capability saves significant ongoing consultancy costs, as traditional ERP systems requiring external consultants for each modification can cost thousands of pounds a year.

Continuous investment and technology integration

Mark Mullaly's statement reveals ongoing value realization: “Priority has produced a sea of change in how profitable the company is. We continue to invest in not only our ERP but wider technologies such as handheld devices on the shop floor… to improve our staff's productivity.”

This continued investment indicates:

• Strong ROI justifying additional technology spending
• Priority platform supports integration with emerging technologies
• Productivity improvements remain ongoing priority
• System provides foundation for future innovation

The deployment of handheld devices on the shop floor represents continued digital transformation, with Priority serving as the integrated backbone for real-time data capture and workflow management.

Reliability and upgrade experience

Long-term partnership value is evident: “I believe that every incarnation of Priority has been installed and upgraded with no problem.”

Seamless upgrades deliver:

• Access to new features and capabilities
• Maintained system currency without disruption
• No lost productivity during version transitions
• Confidence in ongoing vendor relationship
• Future-proofed technology investment
• Competitive positioning

Priority strengthened Carrs Tool Steels' market position:

• Service differentiation: Ready-milled blocks create competitive moat
• Pricing power: Process-based pricing enables premium positioning versus commodity competitors
• Reliability: Accurate delivery dates build customer trust
• Technical capability: Industry-leading technical advice supported by integrated systems
• Business continuity: Operational stability during disruptions retains customers
• Heritage leveraging: Century-long steel industry heritage combined with modern technology

The transformation from weight-based commodity supplier to value-added precision machining provider represents fundamental business model evolution enabled by Priority's capabilities.

Priority ERP transformed Carrs Tool Steels from a company constrained by paper processes and tribal knowledge into an integrated, profitable, resilient business capable of navigating unprecedented challenges while opening new revenue opportunities. Mark Mullaly's assessment captures the comprehensive impact: “Priority has produced a sea of change in how profitable the company is,” a transformation that continues as Carrs invests in Priority and complementary technologies to drive ongoing productivity improvements and maintain their competitive edge in the specialized tool steel market.