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Evolving a family business with real-time insights

How R&S Grating modernised inventory and reporting, enhanced customer service, and unlocked business-wide efficiency with Wiise ERP.

98%

delivery in full, on time (DIFOT) achieved

30%

reduction in holding costs

60%

reduction in data entry & order management

"By far the most valuable feature of Wiise is complete access to our data. It’s not just about visibility — it’s about what that visibility enables. We’ve been able to forecast inventory up to 12 months in advance, reduce stock outages, and make informed decisions that keep our operations running smoothly."

Tim Hockham, Director, R&S Grating

Before Wiise

  • Inventory was tracked using a legacy, error-prone system that couldn’t provide a real-time view of what was on the shelf — or what would be needed in the months ahead.

  • Sales data was difficult to collate, often reviewed quarterly through time-consuming manual reports, limiting forecasting accuracy.

  • Stock outages were common, caused by unpredictable demand and a lack of visibility into supply chain needs, directly impacting customer experience.

  • Forecasting relied heavily on historical estimates and gut feel, rather than accurate, data-driven insights.

  • Key business data lived in spreadsheets, which made analysis cumbersome and delayed decision-making across procurement, finance, and operations.

  • The business couldn’t easily track ISO 9001 quality objectives, requiring manual workarounds and limiting visibility into key performance metrics.

With Wiise

  • Inventory, sales, and supply chain are now fully connected in the cloud, giving the team real-time visibility and control.

  • Sales data updates instantly in Power BI, enabling 12-month forecasting in seconds — no more quarterly manual reviews.

  • Stock outages are now rare, thanks to accurate planning and improved supplier coordination.

  • Reporting is fast and reliable, with live dashboards replacing time-consuming spreadsheets.

  • Landed costs are built into item pricing, helping the business understand and respond quickly to shipping and import cost changes.

  • Business growth continues without more admin staff — efficiencies in finance and sales have scaled with demand.

  • ISO 9001 metrics like shipping effectiveness and customer satisfaction are tracked automatically and reported in real time.

Speaker - R&S Grating
Tim Hockham

Director, R&S Grating

Tim Hockham is Director of R&S Grating, a second-generation family business supplying civil infrastructure products across Victoria since 1974. With a strong focus on operational efficiency and customer service, Tim has overseen the company’s evolution from a traditional manufacturer to a data-driven, future-ready operation.

Tim led R&S Grating’s digital transformation with Wiise, streamlining inventory, improving forecasting, and enabling growth without expanding admin staff — all while maintaining ISO 9001 standards and strong customer service.

The problem


As R&S Grating continued to grow, their legacy systems couldn’t keep up with the demands of a modern, fast-moving business.

Inventory was tracked manually in a disconnected, error-prone system, making it difficult to know what was on the shelf or what would be needed in the weeks and months ahead. Sales data was reviewed only quarterly, and forecasting relied on guesswork and gut feel rather than accurate insights.

Stock outages were common, especially during seasonal spikes, and the lack of visibility into supplier timelines created costly delays. Reporting was slow and manual, making it hard to spot issues early or adapt to changing demand.

“We used to spend hours pulling together spreadsheets just to figure out what stock we’d need. Now it takes seconds.” — Tim Hockham, Director, R&S Grating

Without real-time data, R&S Grating struggled to respond quickly to shifts in demand or supply chain pressures. This limited their ability to scale and impacted the overall customer experience.

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Challenges

  • Manual inventory tracking and limited forecasting: R&S Grating used a cumbersome, outdated system to manage inventory, making it difficult to track stock levels or predict future demand. Forecasting was based on gut feel or historical sales, with little ability to plan ahead.
  • Sales data was hard to access and slow to analyse: Sales information was reviewed quarterly through a manual, time-consuming process. Pulling reports required consolidating spreadsheets, limiting the team’s ability to react quickly to shifts in demand.
  • Frequent stock outages impacted customer experience: Unpredictable market conditions and a lack of visibility meant the team often ran out of stock — even for high-demand items — resulting in missed sales and delayed customer orders.
  • Limited control over landed costs and supplier impacts: During Covid, fluctuating freight costs were hard to manage. The previous system didn’t allow R&S Grating to accurately track or respond to changes in landed costs, impacting pricing and profitability.
  • Manual tracking of quality and compliance metrics: ISO 9001 metrics such as customer satisfaction and shipping effectiveness were tracked manually. Accessing and reporting this data was time-intensive and inefficient.
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“We used to go through this time-consuming quarterly sales review just to figure out what stock we might need. Now, it’s a live dashboard — we hit refresh, and within 30 seconds we have up-to-the-minute data we can act on. It’s completely changed how we plan and respond to demand.”

Tim Hockham, Director, R&S Grating

The solution

Wiise has transformed how R&S Grating manages inventory, forecasting, reporting, and quality control. Led by Director Tim Hockham, the business now operates with greater visibility, efficiency, and scalability.

  • A fully connected, cloud-based ERP system: Wiise replaced the company’s legacy stock system with a modern platform that links inventory, sales, and purchasing data in real time. This has provided a single, reliable source of truth across the business.

  • Real-time forecasting and inventory planning: With Power BI integration, R&S Grating can now analyse sales data instantly. The team can forecast demand up to 12 months ahead, plan purchases more accurately, and manage supplier lead times effectively.

  • Landed cost tracking for pricing accuracy: The landed cost receipts feature in Wiise allows the team to assign freight and other costs directly to items, helping the business stay responsive during periods of fluctuating shipping rates.

  • Automated quality reporting for ISO 9001 compliance: Previously manual quality metrics — including shipping effectiveness and customer satisfaction — are now tracked and visualised in Power BI dashboards, making audits and reviews faster and more reliable.

  • Efficient growth without more admin staff: Even as the business has expanded, Wiise has enabled R&S Grating to manage higher volumes without adding new sales or finance team members — freeing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.

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Hear how R&S Grating transformed their business with Wiise

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The payoff

Streamlined operations

Wiise replaced manual, disconnected processes with automated workflows, a single source of truth and real-time data. Tasks that used to take days, such as forecasting and reporting, now happen in minutes, saving staff time and reducing errors.

Real-time decisions

Sales, inventory, and cost data now update instantly across the business. The team can make faster, more confident decisions without waiting for quarterly reviews or manually compiling spreadsheets.

Growth without the pain

As demand increased, R&S Grating continued to scale without adding more finance or sales staff. Wiise provided the tools to grow efficiently while maintaining ISO 9001 reporting and strong customer service.

“Before Wiise, we had real issues with stock outages because we just couldn’t forecast accurately. At one point, we were even afraid to promote some of our heavier products — 50 kilos each — because we couldn’t keep up with demand. Now, with accurate forecasting and better inventory management, we rarely run out of anything.”

Tim Hockham, Director, R&S Grating

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