Fixology builds supplier and customer portals, ERP add-ons and workflow systems for Birmingham and West Midlands businesses. A supplier portal typically takes 12 to 18 weeks, and a focused tool for one department 6 to 10 weeks. We start with an on-site discovery workshop, deliver working software every two weeks, and put the code and hosting in your name from day one.
Two economies: the offices and the factories
Birmingham's software needs come from two very different places. In the city centre, business, professional and financial services dominate: Birmingham is the second-largest UK city for employment in that sector after London, and HSBC UK and Goldman Sachs both have major operations in the West Midlands (Invest West Midlands, citing TheCityUK, 2023).
Around the city, manufacturing still matters more than almost anywhere else in England. The West Midlands Growth Company puts regional manufacturing employment at over 211,500 people, 11.3% of local jobs against a national average of 7.9% (WMGC, using ONS 2019 data). Much of that is automotive and engineering supply chain.
The two groups commission software for different reasons, so we treat them separately below.
Software problems that come up in the West Midlands
For manufacturers and their suppliers
- Enquiries take days to answer. Sales engineers work out materials, machine time and lead times in spreadsheets with hidden formulas, and the person who built them is near retirement. A configure-to-order tool that holds that knowledge turns a two day response into an hour.
- Suppliers live in email. Purchase orders, delivery dates, certificates and non-conformance reports pass back and forth as attachments. A supplier portal puts them in one place with an audit trail your customers' auditors will accept.
- The ERP does 80% of the job. Rather than replace it, we often build a focused add-on around it. Where the gap is bigger, see bespoke ERP development.
For professional and financial services
- Case and matter tracking that has outgrown a CRM bolted onto Outlook.
- Client onboarding with identity checks, document collection and sign-off steps, which is classic workflow automation.
- Old desktop systems written in VB6 or Access that only run on one PC in the corner, which is a job for legacy modernisation.
Professional services: join up before you add more
Birmingham's law firms, accountants and financial advisers rarely need a whole new system. They usually need the systems they already have to talk to each other. A practice management tool, a CRM, Microsoft 365 and an e-signature service can be joined with a few well-built integrations in 3 to 6 weeks, which is often a better answer than adding yet another platform.
Bespoke work makes sense when the client experience is the product: a portal where clients upload documents and track progress without phoning, or an onboarding flow that runs identity checks and engagement letters in one go. For sector detail see our page on legal and professional services software.
What automotive customers expect from your systems
Suppliers in the automotive chain are judged on records as much as parts. Customers further up send schedules electronically, expect production part approval documents on request, and want a structured problem report with root cause and corrective action when something goes wrong.
Smaller suppliers often meet those demands with heroic effort from one quality manager. Software that helps:
- Schedule intake that reads customer releases and shows the shop floor what changed since yesterday.
- Approval packs assembled from drawings, inspection results and material certificates already held in the system.
- Problem reports tracked from containment to closure, with evidence attached and deadlines visible.
The software holds the evidence; certification stays with your quality system. Our manufacturing software page goes deeper.
Worked example: a supplier and quality portal
Take a hypothetical mid-sized West Midlands manufacturer with around 80 active suppliers. Suppliers log in to see purchase orders, confirm delivery dates and upload certificates. Buyers raise non-conformance reports and track corrective actions to closure. Orders flow in from the ERP and receipts flow back.
A portal like this typically takes 12 to 18 weeks. The quality workflow is the part most likely to grow, because every customer and audit standard asks for slightly different evidence, and discovery pins that down before the plan is fixed.
Two things keep it on track: building on the ERP rather than around it, and launching to five friendly suppliers before inviting the other 75.
Free help from the Birmingham and Solihull Growth Hub
The Birmingham and Solihull Growth Hub delivers the Business Growth West Midlands service for small and medium-sized businesses. It describes itself as fully funded, independent and impartial, and its support is free (Birmingham City Council).
Before committing to a build, ask their advisers about funding programmes open at the time. They can also help you check whether the problem is software at all, or a process that needs fixing first.
Visiting your site, and everything in between
We do not have a Birmingham office. Our registered office is in Luton and the team works remotely. We travel to your premises for the parts that need people in a room: a discovery workshop that includes a walk round the shop floor or the back office, user testing with the staff who will use the system, and launch.
Day to day you get two week sprints, a demo on a test link at the end of each, and replies within one working day. After launch, a support plan covers fixes, updates and security patches, and can be ended with 30 days' notice. See how we work for the full process.