History

Entec International was formed in 1989 by Michael Robinson & Chris Syner. Both had worked together for a number of years in the UK distribution sector - specialising in mechanical & electrical spares; an industry renowned for its customer-driven demand for immediate service.

The big idea - go where others fear to tread

The original concept was one of taking on markets that others shied away from. At the time, foreign investors were nervous of Nigeria and indeed many were withdrawing. And that is where the business took off, quickly expanding into Ghana and Cameroon.

At the time, it was common for UK companies to regard exports as something to turn to when the UK economy slowed down. One of the greatest complaints from overseas companies was the poor service they received from their UK suppliers, taking weeks to quote, no attention to details such as shipping costs, packaging and so on. And more often than not, deliveries were late

Focus on service delivers first big name client

Entec applied principles learned from years in the UK distribution sector, focusing on improving the service and response times to their clients. This quickly resulted in their first ‘blue chip’ client, Guinness.

At this time Entec was an export trading company and although the products sold were firmly routed in mechanical & electrical spares, the customer base was wide and varied. Everything from Paper Mills to Cement Factories, Sugar Processing Plants, Fertilizer Manufacturing Plants, Automotive Spares, Fish Processing, Brewing & Bottling...

The catalyst for change - overseas MRO

It was Brewing & Bottling which proved to be the catalyst for change in 2000. Guinness (now Diageo) set upon a course of outsourcing the supply of their Maintenance, Repair and Operation Spares (MRO) for their overseas manufacturing operations.

Eight categories were put out for tender and Entec won the contract to supply mechanical spares. Both Entec and Guinness showed a strong desire to embrace new technologies to improve the supply chain and in 2001 Entec employed their first full time IT professional, Jason Evans.

Launch of real-time track and trace of MRO components

Jason was tasked with the development of an on-line system that would enable both Entec users and clients alike to input and trace enquiries, quotations, orders and shipments in real time 24/7. This proved such a success that over the next two years Guinness moved all their outsourced categories to Entec.

Fully outsourced supply chain solutions - including data translation, data cleansing and stock optimisation

Since 2000, the focus has shifted away from general trading to offering a fully outsourced supply chain solution, now being utilised by several of the worlds leading ‘blue chip’ manufacturing & packaging companies.

Client demand has led to an expansion in the services offered, with data translation and cleansing, point of sale and promotional items, stock optimisation, stores rationalisation and excess inventory disposal being amongst the latest developments.

Launch of Entec's North America operations

In January 2006, Mike Robinson led the opening of a new Entec operation in the USA. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Entec International NA LLC, provides an expansion of the range of products and services developed through the European operations and has spearheaded the development of interfaces between Entec’s Need2 operating system with clients own ERP systems such as SAP.

Adepto - bringing together a full range of specialist services

Adepto Group was formed in January 2007. It brings together the full scope of services offered and provides a structure within which each business can flourish, drawing on the strengths of other group companies.

We are excited about the future. There is strong management in place and a committed and enthusiastic workforce. Technology is moving at a terrific pace and we are continuing to invest to make it work for our clients.

Collaboration with Wolverhampton University via their Knowledge Transfer Partnership ensures we stay at the leading edge of new developments.

Interfacing with systems such as SAP is becoming a very focused requirement, as is the quality of data required to ensure these systems can fulfil their true potential.

Global MRO supply chain - and more

Embracing all aspects of the global MRO supply chain will continue to deliver the savings and efficiencies our clients demand, however, we never lose sight of the basic principle around which we began the business in 1989. The client may be in another part of the world but his requirement for a spare part is equally as important as the factory next door.

...the world can be a small place...