Carrs Tool Steels Customizable ERP Case Study | Priority

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About Carrs Tool Steels

Carrs Tool Steels is a specialized steel and aluminum stockholder serving the tool-making industry, with a heritage within the steel industry spanning more than a century. The company processes large steel and aluminum stock into smaller, precision-cut pieces, performing both in-house machining and subcontracted work to supply manufacturers and tool makers with the exact materials they need for their operations.

Carrs Tool Steels provides a comprehensive range of conventional, special high-performance, and extreme high-performance tool steels, along with aluminum and powder metallurgy products. The company differentiates itself through rapid overnight delivery on standard orders, a specialized ready-milled service offering blocks machined on all six faces to precise engineering tolerances, exceptional product presentation and documentation with total traceability, and industry-leading technical advice and support that leverages their century of steel industry expertise.

“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.”

Mark Mullaly, Systems Manager at Carrs Tool Steels

The challenge

Mark Mullaly, Systems Manager at Carrs Tool Steels, explains the fundamental issues facing the business: “We faced two critical issues: business processes that were mostly inside the head of our production manager and an inability to get an accurate picture of the business at any one time. This led to our realization that the business needed investment to grow.”

The company's paper-based processes created significant operational constraints. Critical production knowledge existed only in one person's mind, creating vulnerability and making it impossible to scale operations or ensure consistency. Management lacked real-time visibility into business performance, preventing data-driven decision-making and strategic planning.

To compensate for these process inadequacies, Carrs maintained significant inventory levels to avoid customer service problems and mitigate the impact of inaccurate delivery dates. This inventory burden tied up working capital and warehouse space while masking underlying operational inefficiencies.

Additionally, the company struggled to track work performed off-site by subcontractors and special services provided to suppliers, creating billing inaccuracies and revenue leakage. The inability to accurately charge for value-added services meant Carrs was limited to simple weight-based pricing, leaving significant revenue on the table for the specialized processing and machining services they provided.

The solution

Carrs Tool Steels partnered with Priority Software and Medatech UK to implement a flexible, customizable ERP solution that could adapt to their specific business requirements.

Ease of use and customization

Priority's platform provided the critical balance Carrs needed. Mark Mullaly, Systems Manager at Carrs Tool Steels explains: “Compared to a lot of the competition, I found Priority so much easier to use and that I could understand it quicker. While Medatech did an excellent job teaching me parts of the system, I did not have to become an ERP or Priority Software expert to get the most from our investment.”

Rapid module development

Priority enabled Carrs to rapidly create new modules tailored to their business needs without extensive programming expertise or external consultancy costs.

Out-of-the-box with development capability

As Andy Eastwood, Managing Director of Carrs Tool Steels remarks: “The main reason we chose Priority is because it was a system termed 'out-of-the-box' but which we could do some major development with. We felt that our working systems needed some development but likewise we wanted to start on day one with a very similar feel to how we use a system as our old operating system, and Priority gave us the best choice of out of the box and the ability to make changes.”

Cost-effective implementation

Mark Mullaly emphasizes the business value: “This is important for two reasons: Firstly, the software has become more cost-effective. Secondly, I could implement the new software while maintaining ongoing operations.” The ability to deploy without disrupting business operations eliminated costly downtime and revenue loss.

Complete integration

Priority provided seamless integration across all departments. 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.”

Ongoing support partnerhsip

“We've been in contact with Medatech since the day we went live with the system,” says Andy Eastwood. “Our systems manager Mark Mullally is in contact with Medatech as much as we need to be, and I believe that every incarnation of Priority has been installed and upgraded with no problem.”

The results

Priority ERP's implementation delivered transformative operational improvements and positioned Carrs Tool Steels to navigate unprecedented challenges while opening new revenue opportunities. Carrs Tool Steels achieved what Mark Mullaly describes as “a sea of change in how profitable the company is” through Priority ERP implementation. The company transformed from weight-based commodity pricing to accurate process-based charging, enabling profitable new services like ready-milled blocks that created competitive advantage. When COVID-19 struck in March 2020, Priority's flexibility allowed overnight deployment of remote access across the organization, ensuring business continuity while competitors struggled. The company successfully navigated pandemic challenges, Brexit complications, and supply chain disruptions using Priority's integrated platform for decision-making and operational adaptation. Carrs continues investing in Priority and related technologies including handheld shop floor devices to further improve productivity.

Business continuity: Overnight remote access deployment

When the pandemic hit on March 23, 2020, Carrs faced an immediate crisis. Mark Mullaly recalls: “At the start of March 2020, no one in the company other than me had remote access to Priority. Overnight we needed different on-site access for the production staff still on-site and remote access for office staff working from home.”

Before COVID-19:

After overnight implementation:

Only systems manager had remote access

Complete remote access for entire office staff working from home

All office staff worked on-premise

Differentiated access for production staff remaining on-site

No remote infrastructure in place

Flexible deployment including Chromebooks alongside existing hardware

Traditional on-site work patterns

Operational continuity maintained during lockdown

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:

Before Priority

After Priority

Simple weight-based pricing

Accurate charging by processing required

Unable to accurately charge for processing services

Unique production routes created at quote stage

Commodity pricing limited margins

Customized ERP feeds enable accurate, profitable pricing

Revenue left on table for specialized services

Reliable delivery dates calculated automatically

Difficulty tracking subcontracted work and special services

Full tracking of off-site work and special services

Business Impact:

“As customer demands shifted, Carrs managed a higher volume of product queries. Rather than charge simply by weight, Carrs can now charge more accurately by the processing required.”

Mark Mullaly, Systems Manager at Carrs Tool Steels

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:

Before Priority

After Priority

Business processes existed “mostly inside the head of our production manager”

Processes documented and systematized in ERP

Knowledge concentrated in single individual

Reduced dependency on individual knowledge

Risk of knowledge loss

Business continuity protection

Inability to scale or replicate processes

Scalable operations

Training challenges for new staff

Easier staff training and cross-coverage

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:

Before Priority

After Priority

“Inability to get an accurate picture of the business at any one time”

Real-time business visibility

Paper-based processes

Integrated management tools across all departments

Intuition-based decision-making

Data-driven decision-making

Limited visibility into profitability

Profitable pricing visibility

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.”

“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.”

Andy Eastwood, Managing Director of Carrs Tool Steels

Inventory optimization

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

Before Priority

After Priority

“Significant inventory levels” maintained to compensate for poor processes

Accurate delivery date commitments reduce safety stock needs

Poor planning due to unadequate demand visibility

Better demand visibility improves inventory planning

Capital tied up unnecessarily

Working capital freed for growth investment

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.

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