Britain’s Espresso Pioneer Meets Its Growth Limits
Fracino, the UK’s only manufacturer of espresso and cappuccino machines, is proudly a member of Made in Britain, an organisation that unites and promotes the very best of British manufacturing. From their Birmingham headquarters, Fracino designs and builds award-winning coffee machines that compete directly with Italian and Spanish brands – exporting to over 70 countries worldwide.
But as their business expanded, Fracino’s operational and financial systems began to buckle under the strain. In 2016, they reached a critical point:
“We were a Sage 50 customer, and Sage 50 was falling over just because of volume of transactions - it just couldn’t cope… we had to do something.”
The manufacturing complexity of handling CRM, works orders, production, and serial tracking demanded a more integrated system. Fracino attempted to migrate to Sage 200 through another partner, but that implementation fell short.
The Challenge: Eight Years of Struggle and Frustration
Fracino’s problems were multifaceted:
- Data integrity and system instability:
“We wanted to implement everything into one system… but getting the data from Sage 50 into 200 was supposed to be clean, and that’s where we fell down.”
- Poor partner support:
“The guidance we had in the beginning with the previous partner wasn’t the best… I don’t think they understood Sage 200 properly.”
- Financial and auditing chaos:
“We were having major problems because of our end of year audited accounts… our accountancy fee before moving to EBS was ridiculous – circa £30,000 – this was because we couldn’t get the information we needed to get the audit right, we couldn’t get the stock figure correct.”
- Operational paralysis:
Without reliable financial reporting and stock data Fracino’s team couldn’t make confident business decisions
“We didn’t have an accurate picture of where our stock levels were… how much value of stock we had in the business. It was just impossible to plan and move forwards.”
After eight years of recurring issues, audit headaches, and inefficient reporting, the company decided it was time for a fresh start – with a new partner.
The Turning Point: Partnering with EBS
In 2024, Fracino transitioned to EBS (Electronic Business Systems Ltd), who are more than just a Sage 200 solutions partner, they have a deep understanding and expertise in manufacturing and process improvement.
“We made the decision and we moved. I have to say it was like a breath of fresh air… we got responses, we got action. We had been asking questions and getting no answers for years. EBS came in, explained everything, and we sorted all the issues out.”
EBS’s approach was collaborative and hands-on:
- In-depth system review and prioritisation of critical issues
- Guided clean-up of historical data and rebuilding of stock control processes
- Direct collaboration with Fracino’s accountants to validate data
- Ongoing user training and step-by-step education for Fracino’s team
“Phil was a real major player for us, certainly with stock control. He came in, explained everything… my team also worked really hard with EBS’s guidance”.
The Results
Within the first year of partnering with EBS, Fracino achieved dramatic improvements in performance, efficiency, and visibility.
- Reliable, Real-Time Data
“Now I can click a button and get it straight away… that’s the difference. It’s also helped us with procurement – we can forward plan, look at stock levels, and print reports that tell us exactly what to order.”
- Year End Audit Efficiencies
“We’ve done the year end this year in five weeks. Before, it took nine months. The difference is phenomenal – not to mention saving us a small fortune in accountancy fees.”
- Reduced Stress, Increased Confidence
“The ticket doesn’t get closed until the problem’s resolved. That’s really useful to us.”
The Human Impact: A Relationship Built on Trust
The partnership between Fracino and EBS goes beyond software – it’s built on responsiveness, understanding, and partnership.
“We don’t hesitate anymore. If we’ve got a problem, we just make a phone call, raise a ticket, and it gets sorted. There’s no job that’s not been done. We’re already working on an upgrade project now. We’re not Sage experts - they are. You tell us which buttons to press, we’ll press them. We trust them completely.”
Other Solutions in Use
Alongside Sage 200 Fracino also uses several complementary modules to support its business processes, including:
Eureka Purchase Order Plus designed to speed up and streamline the purchase order (PO) process in Sage 200. It extends the standard order-entry screen so that users can access everything they need without jumping between multiple screens.
Sicon Enhancement Pack a collection of over 90 small enhancements and utilities for Sage 200 that are too small to be standalone products. It provides a single add-on to improve the functionality of the Sage 200 software, making it more efficient and user-friendly by adding features like pop-up notes for customers and suppliers, automated price updates, and duplicate purchase order warnings.
Sicon MRP this module is specifically tailored for Sage 200 and provides demand-driven planning, helping manufacturing and distribution businesses. It creates suggested works orders and purchase orders based on sales orders, stock, lead times, and forecasts. It also supports rough-cut capacity planning for labour and machines.
Sicon Service Manager enabling full service and maintenance management within Sage 200 this module provides the ability to log service calls, allocate stock and engineers, handle transfers of parts to field engineers or sites, manage service contracts or warranties, and track job profitability.
Sicon Shop Floor Data Capture this Android mobile and tablet interface module captures real-time manufacturing/production data on the shop floor. Operatives can clock on/off operations, scan barcodes for route cards, record elapsed time and link back to works orders and projects within Sage 200.
Sicon Works Order Processing
These solutions, implemented and supported by EBS, create a fully connected ERP environment that enhances control, efficiency and traceability across the business.
Key Benefits of Partnering with EBS
- Expert guidance. EBS provided genuine Sage 200 Manufacturing expertise where previous partners failed.
- Improved Data Accuracy. Eliminated years of incorrect or unverifiable stock and audit data.
- Operational Visibility. Real-time insight into stock, production, and cash flow.
- Cost savings. Audit fees reduced dramatically; reporting time cut from 9 months to 5 weeks.
- Reliability and support. Ticketing, escalation, and responsiveness.
The Power of the Right Partnership
Fracino’s story proves that the right technology is only as effective as the people who implement it. After nearly a decade of frustration, partnering with EBS transformed their operations, restored confidence in their systems, and unlocked growth potential.
“We’d struggled for eight years. EBS came in and turned it around in months – we wish we had moved to EBS sooner”
