Doncasters is one of the oldest organisations in the UK, dating back to the mid-1700s, based in Sheffield. On its website, it describes itself as “a leading international manufacturer of specialist superalloys and high-precision alloy components made for the most demanding conditions”.
“You might remember from your history books at school seeing old black and white pictures of people standing around a forge, with irons going into the fire and coming out in new casts – that’s us, that’s our heritage,” says the head of enterprise resource planning (ERP) development at Doncasters Group, Michael Broughan.
The company today has 11 sites around the world, employs 2900 staff globally and is aiming to become a billion-dollar turnover firm in 2025, having hovered around US$800m in recent years.
ITAR compliance challenge
The sectors the firm deals with – including automotive, defence and aerospace – come with various compliance challenges, such as export controls. Compliance with the US’ International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) caused a particular headache when it came to the implementation of a new company-wide ERP system. Broughan explains:
“We had embarked on a multi-million pound implementation and thought we had done sufficient due diligence to establish if the new system was fit for purpose.
“One thing we fell short on was the amount of depth we applied examining the ITAR topic. It was only once the contract was signed with the ERP provider that we found the new system architecture would struggle to support ITAR full compliance. There was no direct obligation on the supplier to help us out contractually.”
Broughan said that he approached various legal firms to see what support they could provide, including in the UK and Europe. None were certain if they could provide the sort of support Doncasters needed, but a fortunate Google search changed the picture.
Right people, right time
Having found the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade online, he reached out to the charity with the challenges it faced around ITAR compliance and data management within the new ERP.
“It was a case of finding the right people at the right time. We found an organisation that actually knew this stuff that was based in the UK.
“We were delighted to be able to engage with you – your offering was exactly what we were looking for.”
The solution
Doncasters got support from the Chartered Institute through three services:
- Eight health check were conducted into Doncasters’ ITAR compliance processes, including six across the UK and two at its sites in Germany
- A report into how it could better manage ERP configuration and data management across its sites
- Training on ITAR compliance that was delivered in-house to around 60 of its staff
“The level of impact was very high because it was able to answer and satisfy a bunch of ‘unknown unknowns’ for us,” says Broughan.
Millions saved
Through the Chartered Institute’s analysis, it became clear that the firm would not be able to have one global ERP covering Europe and the US.
Although this was a costly realisation – with Doncasters since splitting their data management between its EU and US sites, in Frankfurt and South Carolina respectively – it allowed the firm to move away from a position of potential non-compliance, in multiple of its sites, to one of compliance.
“You guys were able to point out to us that we would have been unlikely to pass our next reviews,” Broughan says. “We spent millions to put things right.”
“Had we not implemented the Chartered Institute’s recommendations, we could have lost three to four times the amount of money in subsequent sales. We wouldn’t have been accepted onto various requests for proposals (RFPs) if we were not able to prove our compliance certification levels.
“We have the Chartered Institute to thank for marking our card. Your help resulted in millions of pounds of business being maintained and secured.”
Niche intelligence
Broughan adds that the delivery of the services was positive and that the Chartered Institute came across as an “organisation that is intimately familiar” with “niche areas of intelligence and insights”.
The initial compliance audit was conducted by Andy Bridges, a trade and customs consultant with the Chartered Institute, with Daniela Turiccki, the body’s academy director and export controls advisory lead, conducting further site assessments. Lyn Dewsbury, another Chartered Institute customs and trade consultant, delivered the training.
Broughan said that there “was never any bother” with Bridges, who reassured the firm with his “relaxed and cool character”. He also praises Dewsbury’s ability to engage around 60 Doncasters staff on the training courses, keeping them “nicely in check” through her expertise and ability to answer a wider range of ITAR-related questions.
“Lyn was very skilled at being able to respond to the trickiest of technical questions,” he said.
“Her insight and her expertise was established very quickly, in the first hour of delivery. It all sailed comfortably from there.”
“The Institute was able to deliver very niche intelligence and insight, that we couldn’t find anywhere else in this country and were struggling to find in the European market,” he added.
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