Construction Specialties
Construction Specialties (CS) UK is a specialist
architectural product supplier, based in Aylesbury. Since 1975, it
has built a very successful UK operation offering a wide range of
products - from entrance matting for shopping centres through to
bacteria-resistant wall coverings for hospitals.
Driving Orders
CS UK previously operated on a Unix platform, as Andrew Cousens,
Financial Controller, recalls, "At that time, we took the
opportunity to move to Windows; we implemented Access Supply Chain on
Windows SQL, also linking into Access accounts package."
The Access Supply Chain system takes quotes from CS UK's
customer relationship (CRM) software and drives the
order process from that point on. "For us, it drives everything
from sales order
processing, purchase
order processing, inventory
control, despatch and invoice, before
feeding directly into the Accounts for the financial ledger
operations," explains Andrew.
The whole operation is made more complex as CS UK not only sells
its range of products to major contractors, but also offers a
supply and install service.
"We have two spheres of business. One is supply only, where we
just sell to someone else and they then install it." A significant
proportion of this is to door manufacturers, who use CS UK's
products to surround and protect the doors. "In addition to this
side of the business, we also supply and install," explains
Andrew.
"Our solution provides great visibility... we can see
where problems are likely to arise and can respond to deal with
them before they occur." Andrew Cousens
Financial Controller - CS UK
"The primary customers on this side are major building
contractors, such as Carillion, Bovis or McAlpine." On a large
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) hospital deal, the building
contractor subcontracts the supply and installation of wall
protection to CS UK. To support this side of the business, Access
Supply Chain has the capability to run as contracting software.
"This gives us the ability to control the jobs, including labour
costs and materials costs," adds Andrew. It really does have broad
functionality."
A strong relationship
CS UK's relationship with Access Supply Chain goes
back many years. Before the Windows installation, the company used
a previous version of the same package on Unix. Says Andrew, "We've
been with Access Supply Chain for a long time; we were one of their
first customers. We have a really strong relationship with
them."
This relationship is strong because of the product quality.
"Access Supply Chain combines the benefit of being easy to use,
with great accuracy and visibility of what is happening in our
business. We can see where problems are likely to arise and can
respond to deal with them before they occur."
In a business like CS UK's, every opportunity must be exploited
to gain competitive edge - and this includes the business software.
"We have been using the software for a long time and have many
people here who have remained in the same job. We recognised that
we probably weren't taking full advantage of its functionality,"
says Andrew. So he recently commissioned Access Supply Chain to
carry out an in-depth study looking at how best the company could
maximise its use of the system and its latest features.
Access Supply Chain spent a couple of days visiting CS UK's
site. "The consultant came in and spent time in every department to
really understand our processes," says Andrew. The resulting report
has been presented and CS UK is in the process of reviewing its
recommendations and assessing how best it can implement the
changes.
"The report focused predominantly on sales order processing and
production," he says. "Areas have been identified where we can
really save ourselves quite a bit of time. So it's as much a review
of our processes as the way the system supports them."
Reaping the rewards
Andrew is convinced of the benefits. "We have been able to speed
up our order entry process enormously," he says. Previously, each
operator would check stock
availability and highlight requirements to the purchasing
department before entering any order. "Now, we can put an order on
the system and a picking list will be generated immediately; this
will highlight anything that can't be picked and flag it with the
purchasing department. It is a much faster and smoother process.
Another finding from the review is that CS UK can make its
processes much slicker - the business is about to move to online
credit checking. "At the moment, every order is checked by someone
in our accounts department. An order will only be flagged with
accounts if the customer's credit limit has already been
exceeded."
Facing the future
For the future, CS UK is faced with increasing pressure on
margins, but the organisation is determined to overcome this by
widening its revenue streams. "PFI contracts are beginning to
appear in the education sector - we know our products are valuable
for that market, so this is a key focus for us. Historically, we've
concentrated on healthcare but there is absolutely no reason why
our business shouldn't expand beyond that in the future," says
Andrew.
CS UK is certainly a business that is sharpening its processes
to ensure it is in the best possible shape to break into new
markets. And with a newly revitalised system from Access Supply
Chain to support these processes, it is sure to grasp every new
opportunity that arises.
Choosing an ERP system from the wide range on offer can be a daunting task. Confronted with lots of conflicting advice about what's right, you want to be sure that your new system fits both your business and your budget. This guide, the first of two parts, will help you make informed choices during the first steps of the process.
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