The biggest challenge facing manufacturing SMEs in Hull and the East Riding today isn’t a lack of orders; it’s a lack of time. We see brilliant engineers and factory managers spending up to 30% of their week on repetitive administrative tasks – chasing signatures, filing paperwork, and manual data entry.
As we move deeper into 2026, many manufacturers in Hull and the East Riding are sitting on a hidden risk: an ageing on-premises server. Windows Server 2016 reaches its official end-of-life in January 2027, meaning that businesses still relying on this infrastructure will soon find themselves without security updates or technical support.
For the better part of two decades, the process of digitising incoming paperwork has relied upon a deeply unforgiving and wonderfully pedantic system of digital templates.
It is often surprising to calculate the true cost of a single invoice. In many UK manufacturing firms, processing a supplier invoice manually can cost upwards of £4 when you factor in data entry, approval chasing, and error correction.
Manufacturing and logistics in Hull and the East Riding have faced a data marathon over the last few years. As goods move through the Port of Hull and out across the country, the sheer volume of delivery notes, customs declarations, and certificates of origin can easily overwhelm a traditional back office.
For manufacturing firms across Hull and the East Riding, maintaining ISO certifications and industry-specific standards is the foundation of market trust.
At McKinney Haarcourt we have a perspective that shapes everything we do: Technology is about PEOPLE and, as we look toward the 2030 horizon, I want to take a moment to reflect on what all this “automation” is actually for.
As we move toward January 2027, anyone still relying on ageing on-premises servers needs to understand that cloud migration is no longer a “future project”; it is a strategic necessity for survival.
If there is one thing all these years in this industry has taught us, it’s that “Compliance” is the word that makes SME owners want to check their watches and leave the room.
For too long, the Document Management System (DMS) has been treated as a digital graveyard – a passive filing cabinet where data went to be forgotten but, not any more.