Ladybird quickly realised it would require a major overhaul of their IT systems following a 12 month period of considerable growth. Having used Sage Enterprise for a number of years, they were happy to continue with a Sage solution but believed their current supplier could no longer support their business effectively.
CPiO were recommended by the Computer Users Group. Stephen Hammond, Ladybird’s Finance Director, commented “CPiO’s straightforward, honest approach was a good place to start.”
As there was no longer a need for BOM or Stock Control, Ladybird looked at specialist plant hire packages including MCS. These were quickly dismissed as the CRM functionality was too limiting, instead opting for Sage 1000 – a powerful, single integrated system which seamlessly unifies information across the entire business.
“Sage 1000 would mean more of a financial outlay but we decided this was a worth while investment already having confidence in the Sage brand” notes Stephen Hammond. “The CRM side had become a very important aspect for logging problems and identifying maintenance patterns which had previously been done in Outlook and which was not comparable” added Hammond.
Sage 1000, delivered by CPiO, offered immediate benefits. All relevant client data was now in one place. Moving from an enquiry to the source data was efficient and simple. The integrated approach of CRM and transactional back office functions reduced the amount of email and phone queries. Sage 1000 saved both on time and staffing levels, in fact return on investment for the software was apparent within the first 9 months, even though Ladybird were adding 10 cranes per year to their portfolio. They now had all the information they needed to manage the business more effectively and enhance their competitive advantage.