Holding the shop together by memory and paper
For years, Linked Group's office and production teams worked across Fergus, spreadsheets, emails and paper order sheets, with the rest filled in by conversations on the factory floor. Orders were entered more than once, and production relied on people remembering what was next.
As the business grew, that became harder to carry. Every extra order meant more admin, more room for mistakes, and more time spent finding information instead of manufacturing product.
"We reached the point where we knew our systems were holding back the business more than our production capacity."
A system built around how the floor already works
Linked Group wanted one system connecting the office, production and dispatch - built for manufacturing, not general job management. Changing a business's core operating system is always a big decision, and what gave the team confidence was Factory's willingness to understand how Linked Group actually manufactures, and work alongside them through the change.
The onboarding was collaborative. Rather than forcing a standard workflow onto the business, the team listened to how the factory operates and helped build processes that suited it.
"Rather than trying to force us into a standard workflow, the team listened to how our factory operates and helped build processes that suited our business."
The change so far
& memory → one
connected system
Less double-handling, fewer errors, and minutes saved on every order. That's the payoff Linked Group names so far - not a headline number, but real time back for a team that used to track jobs the old way.
"We’ve significantly reduced the amount of double-handling of information. Tasks that previously required multiple systems and conversations are now managed in one workflow."
Projects to people, materials to systems
Linked Group connects clients, architects and installers, turning concepts into finished roofing and cladding systems. Manufacturing out of Matamata and delivering across New Zealand, the team works across a full range of architectural profiles - standing seam, cassette and corrugated panel - in steel, aluminium, copper and zinc.
The Bowentown project pictured throughout this page - a full standing-seam cladding system on an exposed coastal site - is typical of the bespoke work Linked Group takes on: the kind of project other fabricators pass on. It is also the kind of shop Factory was built for - a family business that ran a fabrication shop for almost 50 years, designing the software around a shop like this one, not the other way round.
"Architectural roofing, cladding and flashings, manufactured in Matamata and delivered right across New Zealand."
The project, and the team behind it
The Kaimai Roofing project at Bowentown runs through this whole story - a full standing-seam cladding system on an exposed coastal site, manufactured in Matamata by the team below.
Day to day
Order tracking across the office, production floor and dispatch, from one connected system.
Production scheduling, so the floor always knows what is next without asking the office.
Day-to-day communication between office and factory, replacing the walk to the floor.
Visibility across departments, freeing the team up for customer service and continuous improvement.