Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialist NexSys marked its 40th birthday by paying homage to the powers of building digital resilience. On 9 November, more than 100 customers and partners gathered at Voco in Solihull for the annual NexSys Customer Event. With the theme of Road to Excellence, the day helped businesses keep abreast of the latest solutions, whilst networking with peers, debating key topics and gaining insight from guest speakers.

NexSys has a proud track record working with the UK’s manufacturers and distributors to transform their operations with the power of ERP. As an elite partner of SYSPRO, the business helps customers improve their competitiveness and agility through access to real time data. Bringing together businesses and partners at its annual Customer Event offered NexSys an ideal opportunity to celebrate its longevity and commitment to continuous improvement.

NexSys’s Managing Director Nick McGrane opened the Customer Event by talking about the need for businesses to have full visibility of operations when measuring excellence. To keep pace with an ever-changing commercial landscape, those offering digital solutions must constantly adapt their offer.

He said: “If you don’t keep investing in your systems, today’s excellent quickly becomes tomorrow’s mediocre. Over the last 40 years we’ve been constantly evolving and raising the bar… This is a journey to keep providing customers with the service they need, and our success is measured by their success. We see how transformative our solutions can be and we will continue developing NexSys solutions to support business on the road to excellence.”

Nina Gryf, Senior Policy Manager at Make UK, took the stage to outline some of the key challenges facing UK manufacturers, including increased costs, supply chain volatility and skills shortages. She acknowledged the critical role digital technology will have in future proofing operations and helping them embrace the fourth industrial revolution.

Paulo de Matos, SYSPRO Global Chief Product Officer, updated delegates on the extra functionality available in the latest SYSPRO 8 release. Nick Trevor, Product Development Manager at NexSys, went on to explain how the team has been hard at work developing new ERP+ capabilities to help customers navigate an ever-shifting commercial landscape.

From developing a new machine integration platform to improving the performance of its purpose-built system integration tool DataSwitch, NexSys is committed to continuous improvement. Its customers benefit from having a trusted ERP partner applying its innovation to maximise the benefits of real-time data.

Delegates listened to a compelling case study from Leicestershire-based manufacturer BPW about how NexSys ERP was supporting them on their growth journey. In the afternoon there was also an opportunity to participate in breakout sessions and round tables covering topics ranging from leveraging ERP for strategic decision-making to tips and tricks for quick business wins.

The Customer Event was wrapped up with a fascinating talk by special guest speaker Peter van Manen in which the Managing Director of McLaren Electronics explored the role of real time data in Formula 1.

Mike Moss, IT Director of high-performance packaging business Coveris said: “Attending this conference was a concentrated burst of knowledge, networking, and shared experiences. This will ultimately help us to unlock the full potential of our ERP system. We not only learned about cutting-edge features, but also witnessed how the use of the ERP and technologies can empower a business to grow exponentially.”

The Customer Event’s two Platinum Sponsors also hailed the event a huge success. Antony Dickson, Managing Director at NexSys partner Anota said: “What a fantastic day it was! The conversations, insights, and connections made were truly inspiring. It was great to catch up with some of our customers and colleagues at NexSys, and we’re more excited than ever about the future of the manufacturing and distribution industries.”

Tim Dodd, Director at NexSys partner IFM commented: “Another really well-organised event by Nexsys. It was great to meet senior level people from UK manufacturing companies all keen to move their companies forward along a digital transformation pathway. Add to that the opportunity to hear from companies who are already well on the way, and you have an event at which everyone in attendance can gain insights and knowledge.”