Move on up

Redditch-based MIE is the developer of MIETrak Pro – a production control software solution specifically aimed at subcontract engineering companies and SMEs. Its roots are firmly anchored in the sheetmetal and precision engineering sectors, but inroads have been made recently into more specific markets such as aerospace and automotive. It seems also that larger companies are discovering the software – recently a large global manufacturer of mobile homes joined the ranks of MIETrak Pro users.

Whilst the business has certainly raised its profile through exhibiting at trade shows such as MACH, Advanced Engineering and Southern Manufacturing (for the first time in 2019), a sizeable proportion of new business is via recommendation and world of mouth.

“Our customer base has grown exponentially year on year and with that growth comes more demand for training, user groups and support,” explains MIE’s sales director Sam Hawkes. “We simply outgrew our former offices; for us as a business, comprehensive, interactive training and ongoing aftersales support is fundamental to our success. For us, it’s not just about the product – it’s the team behind it.

“Compared to our old offices, the new facility offers three times as much real estate,” she adds. “We now have accounts, sales and the support team on the ground floor and a meeting room and two training areas upstairs. The extra space was also needed for our employees – our headcount has risen from five to 12 in the past three years.”

With hundreds of users in the UK, MIETrak Pro is a ‘no hidden costs’ all-encompassing software package that covers all aspects of a manufacturing business from CRM, estimating, quotations and sales order processing through to works orders, purchasing, quality, stock control, production scheduling, ERP/MRP and invoicing.

Shop floor data capture is an option with the software also linking to all major accounting packages. MIETrak Pro also caters for users preferring the paperless approach with full integration with tablets and mobile devices. In fact, a recent innovation is the development of an Android app which can be used for tasks such as logging on and off jobs, reallocating stock, generating packing lists and raising bills of materials. The main objective behind this is to give mobile access to many of the common tasks performed on a regular basis. An iOS version of the app is planned for Q1:2019.

“MIETrak Pro’s strength is its simplicity,” adds Tom Trow-Poole, MIE’s business development manager. “Nine times out of ten, the core product is more than enough for the majority of manufacturing businesses but for those companies needing a little more functionality, we can offer ‘bolt-ons’ such as integration with SolidWorks CAD software and the Android app. A really important aspect is that the software was developed from the ground up to be affordable – and it’s constantly evolving and improving. We have four major product releases a year and everything is driven by customer feedback.”

Also planned for Q2:2019 is a re-launch of the accounting package supplied with MIETrak Pro: “Accounting software has been part of the software since day one but in general customers prefer to use mainstream accounting software like Sage, Xero and Quickbooks and we’ve been fine with that,” Sam Hawkes advises.

“However, one of our biggest customers approached us and said they’d like to use the accounting module so we’ve been working closely with them developing and improving the software. We’re still at the testing stage at the moment but our intention is to re-launch it early in 2019. We believe this will offer a viable alternative to companies that perhaps are looking for a more cost-effective alternative to the mainstream accounting packages currently available on the market.”

MIE Solutions will be exhibiting at the Southern Manufacturing show which takes place at the Farnborough Exhibition and Conference Centre from 5-7 February 2019.

MIE Solutions www.mie-solutions.co.uk