Prototal UK: Quote-to-Dispatch ERP
Delivered via Epic Software Labs · Product ownership & lead engineering
Additive manufacturing / industrial ERP
Took a manufacturing product from process discovery to a delivered ERP, owning the roadmap with senior stakeholders, building the platform and setting up the team to carry it forward.
Concept illustration
Key Performance Indicators
- Industrial Machines Covered by the ERP
- 9
- Value of Production Equipment Supported
- £2M+
- Business Systems Integrated: Microsoft Dynamics and HubSpot
- 2
The machine count and equipment value describe the operation supported by the delivered ERP. The equipment value is not revenue generated or cost savings.
Through Epic Software Labs, I worked with Prototal UK on an ERP for its industrial 3D printing operation. The scope connected quoting, orders, production, builds and dispatch across nine machines worth more than £2M, alongside existing finance and CRM systems.
Prototal UK needed to connect quoting, orders, production and dispatch across nine industrial machines worth £2M+. Manual pricing knowledge had to become automated quoting logic, while sales, factory and finance workflows needed to work together. I had to align stakeholders on scope, deliver the ERP and establish an internal software team to maintain it.
Solution
- Agreed the product scope, budget and roadmap
Worked with the Group Systems Architect to define end-user stories and agree the delivery plan. Mapped quote, order, production, build and dispatch processes so the product followed the operation from customer request to shipment.
- Turned pricing knowledge into automated quotes
Built user-driven pricing algorithms so customers could receive a quote without manual calculation. Connected the customer-facing step to the wider order and production workflow.
- Designed and built the ERP from scratch
Chose the stack and wrote the foundational codebase using Java, Spring WebFlux and MongoDB. Delivered real-time production monitoring and handled large CAD files as part of the manufacturing workflow.
- Connected sales, operations and finance
Integrated Microsoft Dynamics ERP and HubSpot CRM into the quote-to-cash process, supporting the business's ISO 13485 medical and EN 9100 aerospace compliance workflows.
- Established the software department
Hired the first team and introduced agile delivery practices. Combined hands-on implementation with the people and working practices needed to sustain development.
- Kept senior stakeholders involved in product direction
Reviewed progress and priorities with client leadership and proposed features with potential to grow revenue. Balanced the agreed operational scope with opportunities for the product to support the business commercially.
Trade-offs I'd defend
Defined the quote-to-dispatch workflow as a connected product. This made the relationships between pricing, orders and factory activity part of the design from the outset.
Invested in hiring and delivery practices while writing the core software. The engagement created a software capability as well as an ERP codebase.
Impact
I delivered an ERP covering the quote-to-dispatch operation across nine industrial machines worth £2M+. Pricing algorithms replaced manual quote calculation, while Microsoft Dynamics and HubSpot integrations connected sales, operations and finance in a quote-to-cash workflow supporting the business's medical and aerospace compliance processes.
The engagement also established the client's software department: I hired the first team, introduced agile practices, chose the stack and wrote the foundational codebase. Prototal gained both a working operational platform and the internal capability to develop it further. Product discovery, stakeholder alignment and hands-on engineering remained connected from the initial process mapping through delivery.
Work of this shape starts with Phase Zero: three weeks, a fixed fee, and a paper written for your steering group — with a proof on your own data where there is something to prove.
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