Sambro

The Sambro Story

Sambro specialise in licensed merchandise. This involves manufacturing and supplying merchandise based on existing brands/products. This merchandise includes toys, arts & crafts, stationery, bags and wheeled goods. They are licensed to supply merchandise for many brands including Disney, the BBC, DC comics, One Direction, Pac Man, Star Wars and SpongeBob SquarePants.

It's not just about tech

Successful IT projects are not just about the tech, it’s a combination of planning, process and people. TNP has a proven formula of collaborative teamwork with clients that delivers the right results every time.

Working closely with TNP, Sambro International upgraded its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to support its business end to end – from design concept to customer delivery – and tracking those all-important sales.

ERP systems are tricky beasts – handled well and they outperform all other company systems, but get it wrong and the business can falter. For companies like Sambro, keeping the plates spinning to marry up design, production and distribution in order to meet those sales targets is a tough challenge. Add to that the complex issue of tracking and managing licensing fees and the difference between profit and loss becomes a task that relies on systems even the strongest IT evangelist might hesitate to take on.

So when Sambro International faced these challenges and needed to upgrade their ERP systems, they called upon TNP to work with them. At the core of any successful ERP solution are integrated systems that can work together seamlessly. But that’s taking a big leap forward to the end results – for TNP, a successful project means preparation and planning right from the start.

Planning, planning, planning

The team at TNP quickly identified that it was important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Upgrading the ERP systems did not necessitate a start from standard, but instead meant identifying with the sharp end of the business what worked and needed to stay.

Pre-workshops with the business teams, led by TNP team and Sambro’s IT Director, quickly outlined the approach for the way forward. The joint project team identified that Microsoft Dynamics NAV provided just the right toolset to integrate and automate many processes, which would streamline operations and increase business efficiencies.

IT leading the way

While TNP strongly advocate, and work by, their philosophy of a collaborative approach, it also depends upon strong leadership and commitment from the in-house IT team. For Sambro, the success of the project was not just the solution, but also the result of the drive and acceptance of the agreed process by the current IT Manager (now IT Director).

Early buy-in, open discussion and a shared vision of the outcome (and some fun along the way) resulted in a finished project in under three months. From first discussions in September 2016, to completion and go-live date in early December (a week earlier than planned), Sambro’s new ERP system was up and running.

Minimum disruption, maximum impact

Following a successful dry run implemented by the joint teams, where the upgrade was tested against the business requirements, the go-live date was agreed. With all going to plan, there were no last-minute panics or problems – so no crazy hours (other than those planned!) or increased costs. In fact, the only weekend working was the scheduled dry run and system live date – purely to smooth the transition for the business operations.

The end result? Sambro’s fully integrated ERP system now supports the business from start to finish. The addition of MobileNAV provides enhanced functionality for its warehousing operations, enabling the tracking of stock movements and closing the loop from production to distribution and sales using the latest Handheld technology.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding – a joint vision and teamwork (and that includes some downtime) really does get good results.