Industries · Manufacturing
IT for plants, warehouses and distributors
When the ERP stops, nothing ships. We support manufacturers and wholesale distributors across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley — the systems that run production and the network that has to work everywhere the product does.
IT priorities
- A surveyed Wi-Fi design for the whole building, re-checked when racking moves
- Machine controllers and production equipment segmented off the business network
- Backups of the ERP and file servers with a tested restore, not a green report
- A written outage procedure so shipping can keep moving on paper if it has to
- Multi-factor authentication, plus vendor remote access that is controlled and logged
- Maintenance windows and change plans built around the production schedule
Overview
Technology for manufacturers and distributors
Manufacturing and distribution runs on a short list of systems that everything else hangs off. An ERP or inventory system holds the orders, stock and costing. Barcode scanners, label printers and floor terminals are how work actually gets recorded. Shipping and carrier software produces the labels and manifests, EDI links and customer portals carry the orders in, and CAD or production files define what gets built. When one of those stops, the floor stops with it.
The operating environment is what separates this from an office. Production runs on shifts, so the quiet hours might be 5am or a Saturday, and a maintenance window has to fit around the schedule rather than the calendar. Wi-Fi has to hold up down aisles of steel racking and inside buildings that absorb and reflect signal in ways no floor plan predicts. And a good share of the equipment on the floor runs embedded controllers on software the vendor will not update and the warranty will not let you change — those systems don't get patched, they get segmented.
We support manufacturers and distributors remotely first, which covers most of what goes wrong, and on site across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley when the problem is a scanner, an access point or a cable in a ceiling. The work is unglamorous: coverage surveyed rather than guessed, a network that keeps the plant and the office apart, backups of the ERP that have actually been restored, and a written answer to what shipping does during an outage.
Scope
What we look after
What we keep running
- ERP, MRP or inventory systems and the servers or hosting behind them
- Barcode scanners, mobile computers and label printers on the floor
- Shop-floor and warehouse terminals, including rugged and wall-mounted units
- Shipping and carrier software, scales and manifest printing
- CAD, drawing and production files, with version control over them
The network on the floor
- Wi-Fi surveyed for racking, metal product and a layout that changes
- Coverage into docks, yards, mezzanines and cold storage
- Segmentation that keeps machine controllers off the business network
- Cabling and switching that stands up to dust, heat and vibration
- Internet with failover, because EDI and carrier systems aren't optional
Uptime and security
- Backups of the ERP and file servers, with restores tested rather than assumed
- A documented plan for what shipping and receiving do while a system is down
- Multi-factor authentication on email, the ERP and remote access
- Vendor remote access that is controlled and logged, not a standing open door
- Protection against supplier and invoice fraud aimed at accounts payable
Pressures
What makes IT different for manufacturers and distributors
Downtime is measured in shipments
An hour without the ERP is not an hour of inconvenience. It is orders not picked, trucks not loaded and a carrier cut-off missed, and on a two-shift operation the window to prevent that is narrow.
Warehouse Wi-Fi is a physics problem
Steel racking, metal product, concrete and moving forklifts do things to a signal that no floor plan will tell you. Coverage has to be surveyed in the actual building, then re-checked whenever the racking layout changes.
Machines that can't be patched
Embedded controllers on production equipment often run software that cannot be updated without breaking support. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security's guidance is to segment them: a zone of their own, traffic denied by default, and anything that must reach them routed through a controlled path.
Shift work doesn't match office hours
Problems surface at the start of a shift or during a weekend run, and the person who finds them is an operator, not an IT contact. Escalation has to be simple enough to use from the floor and agreed before it's needed.
Orders arrive through systems you don't control
EDI connections and customer portals set the format, the timing and the penalties. An expired certificate or a mailbox that quietly stops receiving can damage a customer relationship before anyone in the building notices.
Payables is a fraud target
Distributors pay a long list of suppliers on predictable terms. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes fraudsters compromising or spoofing a mailbox, learning the payment patterns, then sending updated banking details at exactly the right moment.
Priorities
Where we start
- A surveyed Wi-Fi design for the whole building, re-checked when racking moves
- Machine controllers and production equipment segmented off the business network
- Backups of the ERP and file servers with a tested restore, not a green report
- A written outage procedure so shipping can keep moving on paper if it has to
- Multi-factor authentication, plus vendor remote access that is controlled and logged
- Maintenance windows and change plans built around the production schedule
Other sectors
We also support
Every sector is supported across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
FAQ
IT for manufacturers and distributors: questions
Our ERP vendor hosts the system. What is left for you to do?
Everything between your floor and their data centre, which is most of what actually breaks: internet and failover, the network and Wi-Fi the scanners depend on, the terminals and printers, sign-in security, and the local files the ERP doesn't hold. We also keep a documented answer for what happens when the hosted system itself is down. See managed IT services.
Some of our machines run very old software. Do we have to replace them?
Usually not, and often you can't. The practical answer is segmentation: the controller sits in its own network zone, traffic is denied by default, and only the specific paths it needs are allowed through, so a problem on the office side has nowhere to go. That is the approach the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recommends for operational technology. Our network setup checklist covers the fundamentals.
Scanners keep dropping in the warehouse. Is that a Wi-Fi problem?
Almost always, and almost always a coverage and roaming problem rather than a speed one. Racking and product absorb signal, forklifts move through it, and scanners hand off between access points constantly. We survey the building as it is loaded, place access points for coverage at floor level rather than ceiling convenience, and re-check after a racking change. See networks and servers.
What happens if the ERP goes down mid-shift?
That depends on what you decided in advance. We work through what shipping and receiving do on paper, who gets called and in what order, how long a restore realistically takes, and what has to be re-keyed afterwards. Then we test the restore so the estimate is a measurement rather than a guess. Our backup and disaster recovery guide walks through the questions.
Can AI help on the operations side?
Start with the document and admin work: matching purchase orders to invoices, drafting replies to customer enquiries, summarizing quality and maintenance notes, and pulling answers out of spec sheets and manuals. Anything touching production data needs scoping first, because the source systems are rarely as clean as people assume. See AI consulting and our guide to what to automate first.
Services
Services for manufacturers and distributors
Managed IT Services
Help desk, device and Microsoft 365 management, security and backups — your outsourced IT department under one agreement.
Learn more->Networks & Servers
Wi-Fi, firewalls, switches, cabling, VPNs and servers — designed, installed, documented and supported.
Learn more->Cybersecurity
Security assessments, MFA, endpoint protection, email security, backups and staff training — the controls that stop common attacks.
Learn more->
Guides
Guides for business owners
[IT strategy]
Business Network Setup: A Checklist for New Offices
What to plan before you sign a lease: internet, cabling, Wi-Fi, firewall and network segmentation, plus a move-day checklist for a new office.
[Security]
Backup and Disaster Recovery for Small Business
Backup, retention and disaster recovery for BC small businesses: the 3-2-1 rule, what cloud suites don’t cover, RPO, RTO and restore testing.
[Cloud]
Server vs Cloud: a Five-Year Cost Comparison for Small Business
What an on-premises server costs over five years versus the cloud: a worked 15-person example, where each option wins, and the questions that decide it.
Get in touch
Talk to us about IT for your manufacturing
Tell us about your business and what you need from technology. We reply within one business day.
Tell us what's going on
Send the form or call. A rough idea of your team size and current setup helps us come prepared.
A 30-minute conversation
We ask about your people, systems and goals, and flag anything urgent we notice along the way.
A written proposal
Clear scope, a plain-English plan and pricing laid out line by line. Nothing starts until you approve it.