An independent perspective.

Independent advice for manufacturing owners.

Whether you are considering stepping back, exploring new opportunities, or making sense of scattered business data, we help you understand your options and decide what is worth doing.

Talk through your options
The conversations we can help with

A clearer view of your options.

You know your business. We bring an outside perspective to the decisions you are considering, with advice shaped around your priorities.

What comes next for you?

If you are considering stepping back, succession, or a new opportunity, talk through what you want from the business and the practical decisions ahead.

Advice on your next step

What could your data tell you?

Explore the information you already have, what is missing, and whether connecting it would help answer questions about costs, customers, or the operation.

Make sense of your business data

Which investments are worth making?

Get an independent assessment of systems, AI, and supplier proposals. Weigh the commercial case, the trade-offs, and the alternatives before you commit.

Independent technology advice
Make sense of your business data

Which jobs are really making money?

Your CAD files, custom ERP and shop-floor records describe different parts of the same job. We help you work out which connections would give you a useful, reliable answer.

Explore your data and systems
Released partPH-204 · Rev CPump housing / job 1042
  1. SOLIDWORKSPart + drawing
  2. STEP exportPH-204_revC.step
  3. Custom ERPPart / revision / job
Custom ERP · salesSO-1042
Sales order£8,400

40 pump housings

Custom ERP · purchasingJob 1042
Material & outside work£4,440

Stock, treatment & subcontracting

Shop-floor time · CSV1042 / OP10–30
Completed operations40 hours

Direct labour rate: £30 / hour

Job contribution3 sources linked

Pump housings

Job 1042 · PH-204 / Rev C

Contribution before overheads
£2,76033%

Based on the direct costs in these records.

Select a cost to trace its source.

AI automation, where it earns its place

Less rekeying. Earlier warning.

A delivery change buried in a supplier PDF can affect the production plan. Explore a small workflow that checks the order, flags the change and keeps the decision with your buyer.

Consider where AI could help
Compare the handoff
Material for job 1042Supplier email → PDF check → buyer review → custom ERP
Email attachment · ACK-882.pdf

Northfield Metals

EN8 steel blanks for PH-204

Purchase order
PO-4816
Material
EN8-50
Quantity
40 blanks
Delivery
19 Nov
AI extracts · ERP validates

Check against PO-4816

Your existing purchasing record

Material referenceEN8-50
Quantity40 blanks
Delivery date19 NovERP order: 12 Nov
+7 days
Buyer review

A week later. Does the plan still work?

Check the impact on machining and the promised customer date.

12 Nov19 Nov
An independent sounding board

Advice that starts with your priorities.

You have built your business through years of decisions and experience. We take time to understand that context before offering a view. Use us to test your thinking, assess an opportunity, or talk through a decision you would value another perspective on.

  • Start with what you want from the business next.
  • Make sense of the information and options available.
  • Leave with a recommendation you can act on.

factoryadvisory.com is led by Samuel Meredith, Managing Director.

How we work with you

01

Listen

Understand what matters to you, what you have already considered, and the context behind the decision.

02

Assess

Review the relevant information, explore the options, and identify the questions that need answering.

03

Discuss

Work through the commercial trade-offs, practical implications, and uncertainties with you.

04

Recommend

Give you a clear recommendation and a practical next step. The decision remains yours.

If you decide to make a change, we can support implementation or work alongside your existing team and advisers.

Advice in practice

The decisions behind the work

Placeholder examples. These fictional companies and scenarios will be replaced with verified client stories.

Lorem Industries
Illustrative example

Considering an owner’s next step

An illustrative advisory scenario exploring the operational information and responsibilities involved in stepping back.

Ipsum Engineering
Illustrative example

Understanding scattered business data

An illustrative advisory scenario assessing which information to bring together and what decisions it could support.

Dolor Manufacturing
Illustrative example

Assessing a proposed investment

An illustrative advisory scenario comparing a supplier proposal, the alternatives, and the case for investing.

Talk through your next decision.

You do not need a project brief or a particular solution in mind. Bring the question you are considering, and we can start there.

Talk through your options
Want a more structured starting point?

Manufacturing systems review

Follow a job from its released CAD drawing through ERP planning, CAM, production and costing. Find where revisions, records or responsibilities stop lining up. We agree the questions and scope with you first.

  • A map of your current systems and key workflows
  • An assessment of the gaps that matter to your decisions
  • Independent recommendations and practical next steps
Ask about a systems review
PH-204 / pump housing
01Release
SOLIDWORKS / PDMPH-204 · Rev COwner: Engineering
02Plan
Custom ERPJob 1042 · Rev BOwner: Planning
03Program
CAMSTEP → toolpath → NCOwner: Unassigned
04Make
Shop-floor records1042 · 40 hoursOwner: Production
05Close job
ERP / accountsActual time not linkedOwner: Accounts

Match the job to the released revision.

CAD is at Rev C; the ERP job says Rev B. Confirm the part, BOM and routing before issuing work.