SMEs don’t need more tools—they need fewer gaps. Here’s a pragmatic 90-day plan to raise on-time delivery with platform-native ERP on Salesforce.
Ambition Meets Strain
UK SMEs are ambitious. From artisan food producers in Yorkshire to advanced engineering firms in the Midlands, small and mid-sized businesses account for 99% of UK enterprises and nearly half of private-sector employment. They are the backbone of the economy — adaptable, creative, and entrepreneurial.
But they are also stretched. Teams are lean. Margins are thin. And when demand surges or a supplier slips, the critical question is simple:
How quickly can we act?
If the answer involves three systems and a spreadsheet, your on-time delivery will drift, expedites will spike, and customers will start to doubt promises.
This is not a matter of ambition or effort. It is a matter of architecture.
The Real Problem: Latency, Not Data
Most SMEs have invested in digital tools. They run Salesforce for CRM, an accounting package for finance, a warehouse app for stock, and spreadsheets for planning. Each works well enough on its own.
The problem is not the absence of tools. The problem is the gaps between them:
- A sales forecast lives in CRM but takes days to reach planning.
- Procurement learns about shortages when production has already stalled.
- Finance sees the true cost of a job only after month-end.
Every handoff adds latency. Decisions are delayed not because the signals don’t exist, but because they don’t arrive in time to act.
The Architectural Fix: Platform-Native ERP
The practical fix is platform-native ERP — running ERP on the same cloud as CRM and AI.
With Axolt, built on Salesforce, SMEs operate from one source of truth:
- Quotes, orders, inventory, routings, shipments, and invoices share a single data model.
- Approvals, alerts, and exceptions use Salesforce Flow, not custom integrations.
- AI assistants like Axo act directly on live operational data with full audit trails.
This isn’t about replacing teams with technology. It’s about removing the friction that slows good teams down.
Outcomes SMEs Report
When SMEs adopt Axolt’s platform-native ERP, the outcomes are measurable:
- On-time delivery up by 8–15 percentage points.
- Expedites down 25–40%, saving money and stress.
- Admin minutes per order cut, as workflows run end-to-end without re-keying.
- Month-end close simplified, assembling truth instead of reconstructing it from fragments.
For SMEs, this means fewer surprises, steadier margins, and happier customers — without needing to expand headcount.
Operational Journeys That Deliver ROI
- Quote-to-Order
Problem: Sales promise discounts or delivery dates without real-time capacity or cost data. Operations scramble to fulfil, and finance uncovers leakage weeks later.
Axolt Pattern:
- Live margin guardrails at quote time.
- Capacity-aware availability-to-promise (ATP) checks.
- Orders created without re-keying.
Impact: Sales promise only what can be delivered profitably, and operations see the right work orders from day one.
- Shortage Prevention: Plan-Procure-Make
Problem: SMEs often rely on reactive procurement. Shortages are discovered at the dock, forcing emergency buys or overtime.
Axolt Pattern:
- Predictive MRP blends demand signals with supplier performance data.
- Supplier scorecards (price, OTIF, quality) inform sourcing.
- Exception workflows trigger “next-best actions” before shortages bite.
Impact: Shortages fall, throughput steadies, and overtime is reduced.
- Inventory and Traceability
Problem: Stock data is often unreliable. Spreadsheets lag reality, leading to phantom stock or overselling.
Axolt Pattern:
- Multi-site inventory with lot/serial tracking.
- Real-time updates as materials move.
- Cycle counts integrated into everyday operations.
Impact: Inventory turns improve, working capital is freed, and compliance becomes automatic.
- Shop-Floor Feedback
Problem: Operators record labour and scrap manually; data reaches planning and finance weeks later.
Axolt Pattern:
- Operators log yields and scrap in real time.
- Data flows directly to planning and finance.
- Non-conformance triggers corrective actions immediately.
Impact: Problems are solved in the moment, not discovered after the fact.
The KPI That Matters: Decision Cycle Time
Forget “number of reports.” The KPI that really matters is decision cycle time:
- The hours between a signal (“shortage risk”) and a posted action (“PO pulled forward”).
When SMEs compress cycle time:
- On-time delivery rises.
- Expedites fall.
- Margins hold.
- Teams spend less time firefighting.
Boards should review decision cycle time as a weekly dial. It’s the most accurate predictor of operational health.
A Practical 90-Day Playbook for SMEs
Digital transformation often feels overwhelming. But SMEs don’t need to boil the ocean. They can start small and see value in 90 days.
Days 0–30: Map & Baseline
- Pick one journey — typically Quote-to-Order for your top SKU family.
- Map the process end-to-end.
- Baseline decision cycle time and promise accuracy.
Days 31–60: Implement
- Deploy Axolt on Salesforce for that journey.
- Enable live margin guardrails and ATP checks.
- Flow quotes directly into orders without re-keying.
Days 61–90: Prove & Publish
- Measure the delta: shorter decision times, improved delivery accuracy, fewer expedites.
- Publish results internally to build momentum.
- Expand to procurement, inventory, and shop-floor feedback.
The principle is simple: scale the pattern, not the complexity.
Case Example: A Midlands SME
A 120-person engineering SME illustrates the shift.
Before Axolt:
- Quotes promised margins that evaporated in production.
- Procurement discovered shortages at the dock.
- Month-end close took 12 days.
- On-time delivery sat at 74%.
After Axolt:
- Margin checks embedded at quote time.
- Predictive MRP flagged supplier risk early.
- Advance VAT handled automatically in invoicing.
- Month-end close shortened to 6 days.
Impact:
- On-time delivery rose to 88%.
- Expedite costs fell 32%.
- Finance shifted from reactive to proactive.
Why This Matters for UK SMEs
The UK SME landscape is resilient but fragile:
- Volatile demand in consumer goods.
- Rising costs of energy, labour, and compliance.
- Supply chain shocks that disrupt planning.
- Customer expectations shaped by Amazon and global brands.
For SMEs, the difference between growth and stagnation is not more tools. It’s fewer gaps.
Platform-native ERP provides the coherent backbone to adapt fast, protect margins, and win repeat business.
The Bigger Picture: Competing on Velocity
SMEs often compete on creativity, quality, or niche expertise. But in today’s environment, these strengths are undermined if delivery is unreliable.
The new differentiator is decision velocity: the ability to act on signals faster than competitors.
With Axolt on Salesforce, SMEs gain:
- One operational truth.
- Embedded finance.
- Predictive planning.
- AI execution (Axo) that reduces admin.
- Governance by default.
This isn’t about replacing people. It’s about letting small teams act like big ones without the complexity.
From Signal to Action
UK SMEs don’t lack ambition. They don’t lack orders. What they lack is time.
Every shortage discovered too late, every delayed decision, every re-keyed order is lost velocity. And lost velocity shows up as missed deliveries, higher expedites, and thinner margins.
The fix isn’t more tools. It’s fewer gaps.
Platform-native ERP with Axolt on Salesforce collapses the distance from signal to action. It turns ambition into delivery, insight into execution, and lean teams into competitive ones.
From Trafford to Tyneside, SMEs that master decision velocity will define the next chapter of UK industry.
