From Steam to Streamlined: Sauna Maker Brings 45 Years of Craftsmanship Into the Digital Age

Oceanic Saunas, a Wolverhampton‑based specialist, trimmed its catalogue to pure sauna and steam‑room solutions after decades of broader bathroom product lines. The decision created a clear market niche but exposed the limits of legacy accounting software, Sage 50, which could not support the growing complexity of product SKUs, custom configurations, or shop‑floor visibility. Recognizing the need for a modern manufacturing ERP, director Sarah Jones turned to the UK’s Made Smarter initiative, linking the firm with technology experts and grant funding to accelerate digital adoption.

The implementation journey spanned twelve months, overlapping a full product‑range redesign, a new Magento e‑commerce site, and personal family commitments. Partnering with the Manufacturing Technology Center, an independent ERP consultancy, and the MRP‑Easy platform, Oceanic Saunas rebuilt its data architecture, introduced a unified bill‑of‑materials (BOM) with parameters, and enabled real‑time dashboards. The new system delivers granular costing, automatic overhead allocation, and instant generation of purchase orders for missing components, giving Sarah a top‑down view of sales, production status, and lead times from any device.

Post‑go‑live, staff transitioned from spreadsheet‑heavy processes to a mobile‑friendly interface, fostering competition to resolve issues quickly and dramatically reducing printed paperwork. The ERP’s responsive support and flexible configuration have driven measurable efficiency gains, while the company’s experience underscores a key lesson for SMEs: conduct thorough research, define precise requirements, and align software capabilities with shop‑floor workflows before committing to a system overhaul. This case illustrates how targeted digital transformation can revitalize a traditional manufacturer and set a benchmark for other UK SMEs seeking scalable, data‑driven operations.