For many growing UK manufacturing organisations, their success has become a double-edged sword. While order books are healthy, the systems supporting day-to-day operations are struggling to keep up with the scale and complexity of the business today.
Below I explore the most common challenges facing today’s manufacturers, told through the experiences of those on the front lines.
One of the most widespread issues is an over-reliance on spreadsheets. Don’t get me wrong, I’m yet to encounter a Finance Director or Supply Chain Manager who doesn’t love their spreadsheets, but when the business scales, it becomes a serious risk.
An Operations Director at a specialist assembly firm summed up the frustration when considering how to manage around 200 components per sub-assembly manually:
┃ “If I have to do all this on spreadsheets, I’m going lose my mind.”
This sentiment is echoed across the industry. At one packaging manufacturer, the Commercial Director described the reality plainly:
┃ “Honestly, when I say we’re manual, everything is manual.”
Staff still walk the factory floor with paper to count pallets by eye. The administrative burden is significant and the risk to the business is even greater.
Without a unified ERP system, data becomes siloed, leaving leadership to make critical decisions with limited visibility. A Head of Finance at a global manufacturer highlighted the risk:
┃ “We work on feelings rather than facts, which is terrible.”
When systems don’t talk to each other, confidence in the numbers disappears.
This lack of real-time insight means decisions around production scheduling and stock allocation are often based on guesswork or the “gut feel” of a few long-serving individuals.
Legacy platforms are being pushed beyond their limits. One Finance Lead admitted their current system:
┃ “[It] works because we make it work.”
In other words, success depends on individual expertise rather than system capability. The risk is high. One engineering group recently lost access to their system for three days due to data corruption.
When problems arise, the temptation is to add niche software for specific needs like maintenance or CRM. But as one finance professional put it:
┃ “All we’re doing is sticking a plaster over a gaping horrible wound.”
Rather than layering more tools on top of an unstable foundation, many organisations now recognise the need to address the root cause and look into a single, unified ERP.
For companies planning significant growth, the consensus is shifting towards a full system overhaul. The conclusion was clear:
┃ “It almost feels that we need a complete reset.”
A modern ERP like Sage X3 provides that reset. It replaces disconnected systems with a single source of truth, offering:
· Integrated finance, manufacturing, and distribution
· Multi-level BOM management
· Real-time shop floor data capture
· Visibility across sites, entities, and regions
As one Finance Director preparing for rapid expansion noted
┃ “Everyone is demanding one.”
For manufacturers considering a system reset, real-world results matter. At Xplor Solutions Case Studies, you’ll find evidence of how modern ERP implementations have transformed operations, improved visibility, and enabled measurable growth for UK and international manufacturers.
┃ Learn more about the capabilities of Sage X3
AI is now becoming a part of our daily lives, whether it’s scrolling through Netflix suggestions, asking Alexa for the time, or using tools like ChatGPT to draft a performance review.
In HR, AI can streamline tasks like recruitment, payroll and benefits and creating drafts for policy documents, templates and personalised communications. And that’s just what it can do today.
We’ll be exploring how HR is using AI, the benefits it offers and what the future could look like.
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and refers to technology that can do tasks we usually rely on humans for like learning, solving problems, making decisions and interpreting images or other information.
Some common examples of AI include:
AI is often grouped into 3 types:
Today, only Narrow AI exists, while the other two remain theoretical.
Conversational HR: Chatbots that answer questions and assist employees and candidates.
Voice technology: Tools that use human-like speech to respond, read documents, or provide training.
Generative AI: Tools like ChatGPT can create job ads, training materials or personalised messages.
Machine learning: Finds patterns in data to predict things like candidate fit.
Automation AI: Takes over complex admin tasks such as screening CVs or comparing candidates.
Recruitment: AI helps screen CVs, reduce bias, answer candidate questions, and assess aspects of video interviews.
Onboarding & Offboarding: AI-guided tools walk employees through paperwork and training while chatbots answer common questions.
Employee Satisfaction & Retention: AI analyses feedback and behaviour to spot engagement issues and provides round-the-clock support via chatbots.
Learning & Development: AI creates personalised learning plans, identifies skill gaps, and can even deliver training through virtual coaches.
Performance Management: AI tracks performance trends, supports unbiased reviews, and automates 360-degree feedback collection.
Payroll & Benefits: AI ensures accurate payroll, detects anomalies, and helps personalise benefits information.
Compliance: AI tracks legal changes, flags potential risks, and provides instant answers to compliance questions.
AI is slowly but surely transforming the HR function, helping teams work more efficiently and strategically.
Automation tools handle repetitive tasks such as screening CVs, answering common questions, and scheduling interviews; saving time and reducing human error while still allowing HR teams to focus on meaningful, people-focused work.
Machine learning helps HR spot trends in morale and engagement early, while generative AI makes it easy to create personalised learning and development programmes.
AI-powered insights give HR a clearer view of performance, skills gaps, and talent pipelines, helping teams plan for succession and understand workforce needs more accurately.
These tools can also flag potential compliance issues, support remote and hybrid teams by monitoring productivity and engagement, and lead to cost savings through automation and better-informed decisions in recruitment, training, and retention.
AI is moving so quickly that it’s hard to know exactly what’s next, but a few trends are already taking shape.
We’ll likely see much more personalised employee experiences, with real-time performance and wellbeing insights shaping development plans and replacing traditional annual reviews with continuous feedback.AI may also become better at reading emotions, spotting signs of stress or burnout, and prompting helpful check-ins or support.
VR could play a bigger role too, offering immersive onboarding and training experiences that feel more engaging than traditional methods.
As AI becomes more powerful, we can expect a stronger focus on using it ethically and responsibly to protect people and the environment.
Source: Factorial
We are proud to announce our partnership with iplicit, the award-winning cloud accounting software provider, to further strengthen our ERP and financial management portfolio in the UK market. This partnership strengthens our ability to support ambitious organisations across the UK with next-generation cloud financial management.
iplicit is a fast-growing, UK-based cloud accounting solution, recognised for bridging the gap between entry-level systems and complex enterprise ERP platforms. Designed for the mid-market, iplicit delivers enterprise-grade functionality at a mid-market cost, with powerful reporting, multi-entity consolidation, and rapid implementation in weeks rather than months.
To accelerate its growth in the UK, iplicit sought a delivery partner with proven ERP expertise, international capability and local presence. Xplor was selected for our:
We chose to partner with iplicit because their platform offers what many UK organisations have been asking for: a modern, intuitive and scalable cloud accounting solution that goes beyond entry-level software without the cost or complexity of traditional ERP systems. For our clients, this means a lower-risk and faster route to modern finance transformation.
Together, Xplor and iplicit will provide UK organisations with a cloud-native solution that empowers finance teams to gain real-time insights, automate processes and scale with confidence.
“We are delighted to be appointed as iplicit’s strategic UK partner. This collaboration reflects a shared vision of making next-generation cloud accounting accessible to mid-market organisations. Our accredited team is ready to deliver rapid, low-risk implementations, helping customers unlock the full potential of iplicit’s award-winning platform.” – Xplor Solutions
Media coverage and partner ecosystem mentions of Xplor Solutions and our strategic partnership with iplicit.
Discover how Xplor and iplicit are transforming finance for UK businesses —
learn more about our partnership.
On 2 April 2025, "Jornal de Negócios" published an article on Xplor's growth strategy, entitled ‘Internationalisation is one of the pillars of our growth’.
In this interview, Tiago Baptista, CEO of Xplor, explained that the company's growth goes far beyond a simple international presence.
At Xplor, growth is not measured solely by geographical expansion. Our ambition is to offer a diversified value proposition capable of responding to the specific challenges of companies with different levels of maturity and in multiple sectors of activity.
Our operations are organised into three complementary areas:
Business Applications – management solutions (ERP, CRM) such as Sage and iplicit, and Human Resources (HRM) platforms such as Factorial;
IT & Cyber – managed cloud services (XSCloud), IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, in partnership with specialists such as Ethiack;
ESG & Digital Trust – initiatives focused on sustainability like ESG and ESRS (C-More), compliance and digital trust, including projects in collaboration with Cotec and digital embedded insurance distribution (SUTHUB).
This model allows us to create cross-cutting solutions tailored to each client's specific context, promoting innovation, efficiency, and real business impact.
For us, strategic diversification is much more than just portfolio expansion: it is a lever for creating more comprehensive solutions, innovating with agility, and scaling based on in-depth technical knowledge.
The advantages of this approach are obvious:
Greater resilience to changes in the market that may affect the company's business model.
Ability to innovate across sectors and geographies;
Strengthening the value proposition among customers and partners.
This is precisely the view shared by the ‘Jornal de Negócios’ newspaper, which highlights that Xplor's international success is based on a versatile business structure that is ready to evolve with the challenges of the market.
Finally, we would like to thank "Jornal de Negócios" for the opportunity to share our journey. We remain focused on creating solutions that generate real value for our customers.
📎 Read the original article in Jornal de Negócios (published in Portuguese) April 2, 2025
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