Grays Clip adopts manufacturing ERP ahead of ViperClip rollout

Northern Ireland, September 13, 2025

News Summary

Northern Ireland manufacturer Grays Clip implemented the MRPeasy manufacturing ERP system before taking commercial orders for its ViperClip cable fastening products. The six-month deployment now manages procurement, production planning, barcode labelling, invoicing and serial-number traceability, supporting subcontracted assembly of the ViperClip Gun. Founders moved to digital systems after a decade of development and recent investor funding to ensure quality control, smoother order fulfilment and clearer financial visibility as the business scales into international residential markets. Early benefits include improved inventory control, automated production scheduling, multi-channel pricing and faster returns and root-cause analysis.

Grays Clip puts an ERP system in place before selling its first product

A Northern Ireland manufacturer has put business software at the heart of its operation before the first product left the factory. Grays Clip, maker of a new plastic cable staple and a rechargeable staple gun called the ViperClip and the ViperClip Gun, implemented the MRPeasy enterprise resource planning system about six months before it began accepting customer orders.

Why the software step matters

The new tool and clip are designed to speed up and improve safety when fastening electrical cable in homes and other buildings. The clip is fully plastic to avoid conducting electricity, and the gun is battery powered to fire those staples quickly. The company’s founders spent a decade developing the idea and used personal savings and other funding to reach production.

Managing production, purchased parts, quality checks, returns and shipping from the start was a priority for the founders. To handle these tasks and avoid data duplication across departments, they chose MRPeasy. The system was selected after evaluating other software and finding MRPeasy offered a middle ground between overly complex enterprise suites and too-basic solutions that lacked necessary manufacturing features.

Funding and route to market

The product’s development and launch were supported by an early-stage investment secured on a televised pitch show. The founders sought an investment to scale and accepted an offer that provided the funds needed to move into manufacturing and sales. Additional angel investment groups also backed the company, part of local networks that match early-stage businesses with investors.

How MRPeasy is being used

Implementation took roughly six months. The delay was mainly due to internal factors rather than complexity of the software. Now live, MRPeasy handles several core functions across the business:

• Tracking each item from procurement through production to delivery using serial numbers.
• Keeping quality records from subcontractors and logging extra in-house inspections.
• Managing returns with a digital trail so faults can be traced back to a supplier or a specific production run.
• Automatic materials procurement and production scheduling based on projected demand, inventory and capacity.
• Generating labels with barcodes and product details to simplify packing and shipping.
• Creating price lists tailored to different channels, such as bulk orders for distributors and single-item retail orders via an online store platform.
• Handling invoicing, and synchronising invoice data with the company’s accounting software to give an overview of pending payments and cash flow.

Supply, subcontracting and quality control

While the ViperClip staples are manufactured in-house, the ViperClip Gun is subcontracted to a partner. The MRPeasy system helps ensure customers receive functional tools by recording supplier quality data and combining it with the company’s own inspection records. Serial-number-level tracking makes it easier to spot patterns, pull specific batches if necessary, and respond quickly to service issues or supplier faults.

Planning and operational benefits

The software’s planning tools allow the business to translate sales forecasts into manufacturing orders, checking stock levels and worker capacity first. This supports decisions about when to order parts and when production can start so the company can make sure there are enough people and materials to fill orders. A simple user interface and clear layout were important to the founders, who wanted the team to adopt the system quickly.

Market potential and context

The product targets markets where fastening electrical cable is a common, repetitive task in housebuilding and wiring work. Many regions use higher-voltage domestic supply systems, where fully insulated fastenings are seen as a safety benefit. Independent testing during product development showed strong interest from electricians, and the team aimed to reach both domestic and international customers, including construction sectors that value labour-saving tools.

What this means for a small manufacturer

Installing ERP software before taking orders reduced the risk of chaos when sales started. It created digital records that support quality control, returns, supplier management and finance. For a small, growing manufacturer that uses subcontractors for parts of production, these capabilities can be decisive in maintaining product reliability and customer trust while scaling up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key features at a glance

Feature	What it does	Why it matters
Serial-number tracking	Records each product’s unique identity and history	Makes recalls, returns and fault tracing faster and clearer
Production planning	Creates manufacturing orders based on demand, stock and capacity	Helps ensure enough staff and materials are available to meet orders
Supplier quality monitoring	Collects and stores quality data from subcontractors	Supports reliable products and faster problem resolution
Label and barcode printing	Generates and prints package labels with barcodes	Simplifies packing, shipping and stock counting
Pricing and sales channel support	Manages multiple price lists for distributors and retail	Enables clear pricing for different customer types and channels
Invoicing and finance sync	Handles invoices and shares data with accounting systems	Gives a quick view of cash flow and outstanding payments

Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic

Additional Resources

• SyncNI: NI couple strike big on Dragons’ Den with electrician’s invention
• Wikipedia: ViperClip
• The Irish News: Business Angels Network in call for new investors and more pitch candidates
• Google Search: Business Angels Network Northern Ireland
• Insider Media: Angel investment network marks busy first year after backing six companies
• Google Scholar: angel investment network ireland
• IEN: MRPeasy — Dragons’ Den winners implement manufacturing ERP before going to market
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Enterprise resource planning