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Case Study

How a 500-Employee ManufacturerReplaced 14 Spreadsheets with One Platform

GZ Industries — a multi-site can manufacturing group across South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya — unified 23 departments onto a single platform built by GrimmGear.

500+

Employees

23

Departments Live

467

Modules Deployed

3

Countries

5

Manufacturing Sites

The Challenge

Operational data trapped in silos

1

Quality, safety, and compliance data scattered across Excel files, email threads, and paper forms

2

Audit preparation consumed 3+ days per audit across 23 departments

3

No real-time visibility into plant-floor incidents, maintenance status, or compliance deadlines

4

Multi-country operations (SA, Nigeria, Kenya) with different regulatory requirements and currencies

The Solution

One unified MES platform covering all 23 departments

GrimmGear delivered a purpose-built manufacturing execution system that replaced spreadsheets, paper forms, and email chains with structured digital workflows.

Quality

NCR/CAPA tracking, calibration management, SPC charts, GMP checklists, BRCGS audit trails

Safety

Incident reporting, risk assessments, PPE tracking, legal appointment management

Maintenance

Work orders, PM scheduling, spare parts inventory, equipment hierarchy

Procurement

5,537 vendors migrated, document verification, tender management

Finance

Multi-currency reconciliation (ZAR, NGN, KES), budget vs actual tracking

HR

47 modules including transport requests, travel management, employee relations

IT

Helpdesk, asset management, change management (CMCS), cybersecurity tracking

Integrations

SAP (32 sync tables), SCADA/Ignition (real-time OEE), Lighthouse Classic

The Results

Measurable impact from day one

23 departments digitised, previously on Excel/paper/email

467 functional modules deployed and operational

Multi-currency support across 3 African countries

Single sign-on access for 500+ employees

R0 per-user licensing (vs R150K+/yr for comparable enterprise platforms)

Real-time production data from SCADA integration

“GrimmGear replaced our entire operational workflow. What used to take days now takes minutes.”

— Operations Director, GZ Industries

Under the Hood

Enterprise architecture, zero licensing cost

SAP Integration

32 tables synced from SAP ERP — procurement, finance, sales, and inventory flow into the platform automatically.

SCADA / OEE

Real-time OEE data piped from Ignition SCADA. Live production dashboards on the plant floor.

Multi-Currency

ZAR, NGN, and KES with live exchange rates. Group-level reporting in USD with local currency drill-down.

Ready to see what this looks like for your operation?

Whether you run one plant or five, GrimmGear builds platforms that fit how African manufacturers actually work.

Interactive demo link coming soon. Walkthrough via sales@grimmgear.com.