Post by Paul Wheeler

For more than 30 years I’ve worked within the bespoke timber fire door industry, and for the last decade I’ve dedicated myself to transforming how SMEs manage compliance, manufacturing, and operational efficiency in this highly regulated sector. Following the closure of Leaderflush Shapland, I founded orionBiz Ltd. Drawing inspiration from the exceptional people I worked with across Leaderflush, Shapland, TDSL, Laidlaw and other Group companies, I set out to build something ambitious: a fully integrated, timber‑based Fire Door CRM, Estimating, Scheduling, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Despatch system. The system is built on well‑founded ERP principles, covering material control, labour management, WIP tracking and financial discipline. Importantly, it does not attempt to replace an ERP system. Instead, it complements and strengthens existing platforms by providing the one thing most ERPs lack: a parametric, compliance‑driven product configurator tailored specifically to the complexities of timber fire doors. My belief is that if a business already uses a CRM such as Salesforce, or an ERP such as Microsoft Dynamics, the orion system should integrate cleanly into those environments. That’s why the architecture is intentionally designed to sit alongside existing systems — not compete with them — providing a specialist layer of intelligence where it’s needed most. The platform features: Parametric bills of material An integrated Rule Engine ensuring alignment with certification schemes A unified costing/pricing engine Ironmongery integration across Estimating and Scheduling A clear separation of customer choice vs. product compliance My philosophy is simple: A business should own its data, understand its processes, and control its destiny — not be dependent on IT service providers. I design systems that create clear boundaries between organisational roles, system responsibilities, business processes and data ownership. This front‑to‑back approach gives SMEs the structure and confidence normally associated with much larger organisations. Over the past ten years I’ve built a broad and loyal customer base, helping SMEs grow organically by applying the operational discipline and best‑in‑class practices. The orion Doorset Scheduling System is now emerging as a class‑leading solution — valued for its reliability, ease of use, business controls, and the efficiencies it unlocks. If your current business systems aren’t delivering clarity, compliance, ownership and operational confidence, it may be time to rethink what “good” looks like.