Shannon Reshno charts Central Innovation’s next chapter

Central Innovation is building on more than 35 years of manufacturing expertise with the market launch of its MaXXflow MRP platform. After more than 35 years working alongside engineering, design and manufacturing businesses across Australia and New Zealand, Central Innovation is entering a new phase of its development. At the centre of that evolution is MaXXflow, an Australian-developed material requirements planning (MRP) platform designed specifically for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The product is the result of Central Innovation drawing on decades of customer experience to address a gap it identified in the market – manufacturers that wanted to improve planning and production but found existing enterprise systems too complex, expensive or disruptive.

“We have always believed that innovation should not be reserved only for the largest enterprises, or for businesses with the biggest budgets and the most complex systems. Innovation should be practical. It should be accessible. And most importantly, it should help real businesses solve real problems.,” said Managing Director of Central Innovation, Shannon Reshno. “That belief is what led us to MaXXflow.” For Reshno, the development of MaXXflow came from repeatedly hearing similar concerns from manufacturers. Many businesses were attempting to manage production through disconnected systems, manual processes, spreadsheets and whiteboards, while critical operational knowledge could remain concentrated in individuals rather than accessible across the organisation.

The company also saw an opportunity among SMEs that needed greater digital capability but were not well served by conventional enterprise systems. Built around manufacturing realities Rather than developing  MaXXflow for a theoretical version of manufacturing, Central Innovation set out to create a system based on the practical. The company wanted a platform that could bring together the information manufacturers need to manage production, including jobs, inventory, bills of materials, purchasing, scheduling, customer requirements and production priorities. That focus reflects Central Innovation’s long- standing relationship with its customer base. “We realised that small and medium-sized organisations were telling us the same story,” Reshno said.

“The products available were too complex, too expensive and required resources they simply didn’t have. Around 80 per cent of manufacturers across Australia and New Zealand are SMEs, and there was no suitable solution for them.” MaXXflow is intended to give manufacturers clearer visibility and stronger control over their production and supply chain operations. By bringing key information into a connected planning environment, the platform is designed to help teams access the information they need more quickly and make better- informed decisions. Central Innovation’s approach to developing  MaXXflow was deliberately collaborative.

Customers were brought into the research and development process, helping the company identify the functionality they needed, explain where existing systems fell short and define the business outcomes the platform needed to achieve. That customer-led process was intended to ensure MaXXflow remained practical and accessible, particularly for manufacturers beginning their digital transformation journey. Instead of adding features for the sake of technological sophistication, Central Innovation focused on addressing genuine manufacturing problems and making the transition to connected systems more achievable. “We listened to the customer voice,” Reshno  said. “We invited a number of our key customers into the development process.

They told us what functionality they needed, how it should work and what business outcomes it needed to deliver.” Releasing cash from inventory For Reshno, however, the value of that visibility extends beyond operational efficiency. One of the central problems MaXXflow is intended to address is the amount of working capital manufacturers can have tied up in inventory, particularly when businesses carry more stock than they need because they lack confidence in what materials will be required and when. Manufacturers can have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in inventory sitting on shelves.

While that stock may provide a degree of security, it can also restrict the cash available for other investments and create the risk that materials become obsolete. MaXXflow is designed to analyse forecasts, existing orders and inventory levels to determine what materials are required and when. The aim is to reduce excess inventory while ensuring manufacturers have the materials needed to meet customer commitments, improving both operational performance and cash flow. “Cash flow is the blood life of any business,” Reshno said. “We wanted to assist SMEs to become more productive, introduce them to digital manufacturing and release cash back into their business.

“MaXXflow takes away that daily uncertainty for procurement managers, operations managers and finance teams.” The platform is now available for SMEs to buy and implement, marking the point at which Central Innovation’s development work moves from product awareness into market adoption. In recent months, the company has introduced  MaXXflow through industry media, trade shows, customer conversations and digital campaigns, with manufacturers now able to engage with Central Innovation to assess the platform for their own operations. The release also marks a step in the company’s broader strategy in positioning itself as an end-to- end solutions partner that can combine software, intellectual property, systems integration, consulting, education, implementation and technical support.

Beyond software

Central Innovation’s future strategy extends beyond MaXXflow itself. The company is developing its capabilities in bespoke software development and systems integration, including the ability to connect factory equipment such as CNC machines, brake presses, storage systems and conveyors into a more unified digital environment. That approach reflects the company’s view that manufacturing transformation is ultimately about connecting the entire value chain rather than implementing isolated software products. As more equipment and operational systems become connected, Central Innovation sees an opportunity to help manufacturers integrate the different stages of production and improve how information moves through the business.

“It’s not just engineering anymore. It’s the entire value chain, even reaching externally from the business into the market,” Davis said. “Industry 5.0 is around the corner, but almost half of the SME market hasn’t yet accessed Industry 4.0. We’re bringing the benefits of connected manufacturing and digital transformation to businesses that previously didn’t have access or didn’t have the appetite because of cost and risk.” The pressure to adopt these technologies is also being shaped by Australia’s competitive environment. Manufacturers are operating against international competition while dealing with increasing energy, material and import costs, making productivity and efficiency increasingly important to maintaining competitiveness.

“The Australian manufacturing sector is competing with Asia,” Davis said. “With rising  energy costs, material costs and import costs, we have to get smarter and leaner. Many smaller organisations think they’re not complex enough for  these solutions, but the truth is they are, and they need to consider them to remain competitive.”

A roadmap for growth

The launch of MaXXflow represents the first stage of Central Innovation’s software roadmap rather than the completion of it. While the initial platform focuses on MRP functionality, the company plans to introduce AI-powered automation by the end of the year, followed by MRP II capabilities 12 to 18 months later.

Those developments are intended to broaden the platform’s role from materials planning into areas including production capacity, machine utilisation and resource planning. The objective is to give manufacturers a more comprehensive view of how their factories operate and how resources can be deployed to meet production requirements. “We’ll introduce the AI component to bring more automation,” Reshno said. “Then we’ll introduce MRP II, which brings factory capacity into the system as well – how we use machines and resources to build products.” The roadmap will continue to be shaped by customer requirements, with Central Innovation intending to identify gaps in the market and determine where its own development capabilities can provide practical solutions.

Ultimately, Central Innovation sees MaXXflow as the foundation of a broader ambition to become a leading provider of manufacturing data management and planning solutions across Australia and New Zealand. The platform represents an investment in Australian-developed technology while reflecting the company’s confidence in the future of local manufacturing. “We want to be the number one solution provider in Australia and New Zealand when it comes to MRP and data management solutions,”  Reshno said. For Central Innovation, the significance of  MaXXflow therefore extends beyond the launch of a new software product.

As Reshno puts it, digital transformation does not necessarily have to begin with disruption. It can begin with clarity – giving manufacturers a connected view of their materials, production, priorities and risks, and providing teams with the information they need to understand what is happening, determine what comes next and act with confidence. That is the role Central Innovation intends  MaXXflow to play as the company enters its next chapter. MaXXflow is an Australian- developed MRP platform designed for small and medium-sized manufacturers.

originally printed in Manufacturers’ Monthly