Founded in 2015, Venture Engineering is a motorsport fabrication and engineering business based in the UK. The company initially designed and made specialized parts for Formula 1, GT, and rally teams, eventually expanding into production-to-conception projects as well as restoring historic racing cars and running its own race team.

They were on track for tremendous growth, but the company’s dependence on a simple accounting solution and multiple spreadsheets created a roadblock to continued success. When the Venture Engineering team realized that upgrading its operating systems was essential, they sought a modern, comprehensive business management solution.

Which solution had them waving the checkered flag? Acumatica.

“Acumatica is the most intuitive system I’ve ever used,” says Will Bos, Operations Manager. “It just makes everyone’s life easier.”

The Road to Acumatica

Venture Engineering’s two divisions—Engineering and Innovations—provide multifaceted services, including design, manufacturing, engine rebuilds & development, prototype manufacturing & build, green energy systems, modern motorsport, and more. As a growing organization with complex processes, operating solely on QuickBooks and Excel was a big ask.

“As the company grew, QuickBooks and Excel just weren’t big enough for us and didn’t have enough functionality,” says Operations Director and Co-founder Adrian Perkins.

Perkins explained that the simplicity of QuickBooks limited the ability to manage information effectively. Beyond basic invoicing and data entry, it didn’t provide the detailed information they needed to run the business effectively. Day-to-day business operations and inventory tracking relied heavily on manually updated spreadsheets and the individual knowledge of team members.

For Andy Bird, Design and Project Manager, using QuickBooks and Excel when determining project costs was also not cutting it. He says, “Tracking project costs before Acumatica was quite difficult and labor intensive. Having to use lots of spreadsheets, different documents across the business.”

When the Venture Engineering team moved their operations into a new 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with the latest precision-engineering equipment, addressing the challenges caused by their simple, disconnected solutions – particularly the lack of operational visibility – became a top priority. “We were always working hand to mouth with no visibility, and it just wasn’t an option” said Joe Lofthouse, Manufacturing Director and Co-founder.

What Venture needed was business management solution that matched the sophistication of their engineering equipment. Their search included reviewing various options, such as NetSuite which seemed ‘too rigid’, and Asana, which didn’t provide the functionality they needed.

As for other systems, Andy Williamson, Commercial Director, had personal experience using SAP and IFS, but found those to be too large for their needs. “One of the key takeaways from past experiences was that we didn’t need a system to become too much” Williamson explained. “A system needs to support a business, not become the business. In a lot of instances, you find those big programs just take over everything and introduce a whole load of unnecessary delays.”

When Venture was introduced to Acumatica’s award-winning, cloud-based ERP solution, Perkins says the team knew it was the right system for them. “From day one, it just felt very flexible and intuitive. Compared to QuickBooks and Excel, Acumatica has just been a game changer for us.”

He also says that the approximately two-month, phased rollout implementation with the help of Gold Certified Acumatica partner Cedar Bay was a great experience. “The implementation, the information they give us, this ongoing support is second to none.”

In addition to Cedar Bay’s superb efforts, Williamson believes Acumatica’s easy-to-use-and-configure software contributed to their implementation success. Steve Fletcher, Cedar Bay Director, Cloud ERP, echoes. “Acumatica was perfect for them because it gave them a modern technology platform that allowed them to take ERP functionality out into the field, which is where they pursue a lot of their activity.”

Once Acumatica was in place, Perkins says the business became “so much more streamlined and efficient, with processes running seamlessly.”

What Customer Success Looks Like with Acumatica

With Acumatica underpinning its operations, Venture has transformed. They’ve:

• Gained real-time visibility into project profitability, labor utilization, and KPIs.
• Improved the project quoting process with easy access to historical project data.
• Provided clients with real-time visibility into their projects.
• Enabled new revenue streams without needing additional staff or spreadsheets.
• Utilized Acumatica’s real-time dashboards to align teams and ensure everyone operates from the same data.
• Defined and set team workloads on a weekly basis.
• Gained full inventory and stocking capabilities, allowing them to see their 20,000+ inventory items clearly and know exactly how many parts they have in stock at any time.
• Acquired the ability to print pick lists with the push of a button so that their skilled workers can do their jobs.
• Leveraged historical data to accurately monitor project costs and profitability over time.

Ultimately, Acumatica has been a difference-making solution for Venture Engineering. “We are able to provide clients with a seat on our operating system, allowing them to see their real-time project data.” This level of transparency gives them huge confidence and is a real differentiator for us in the market.

Facing the Future Without Fear

Venture Engineering – with its purpose-built facility and world-class team of engineers and technicians – continues to deliver high-quality results to their clients and they can face the future with confidence.

“We’ve got to the point now where we’re just not scared of anything,” says Lofthouse.

And Williamson adds: “The motorsport industry runs on data. Being able to use our resources as efficiently as possible – both on track and in the factory – is critical for us to maintain our competitive edge. It’s all about maximizing every opportunity you have to deliver the best performance that you can.”

By partnering with Acumatica, Venture Engineering is racing towards a successful future, and according to Andy Bird, “every business should do the same. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a system that saves you time, energy, and effort, look no further than Acumatica.”

To learn more about how you can achieve customer success with Acumatica, contact our experts today. We’ll be happy to answer any questions and/or to schedule a demonstration.