Tidyco wanted to stay with the Sage product line to ensure continuity for users and minimal disruption to its business.
As the business continued to grow Tidyco realised that its current financial systems were no longer able to provide the functionality it required. Disparate applications across finance, payroll and customer records were proving frustrating as data was not easily accessible. Management needed information that it could quickly and easily manipulate to help drive the key business decisions.
The company was running Sage CS/3 on a UNIX platform for its financials and distribution, whilst an internally developed Microsoft Access database acted as a contact management solution. Tidyco also operated a stand alone payroll system, adding to the reliance on rekeying of information across the systems. The introduction of a Microsoft-powered web sales function on the company’s website further exacerbated the issue of technology integration.
Having used Sage CS/3 for a number of years, Tidyco wanted to stay with the Sage product line to ensure continuity for users and minimal disruption to its business. CPiO recommended the Sage Line 500 system due to its extensive functionality and ease of use, incorporating standard applications and providing easy transfer of data within the solution. Tidyco wanted to continue to operate its MS Access based contact management system and the reliance on a Microsoft engine for the company website made the decision to move to Sage Line 500 running on a Microsoft platform a logical one.
The implementation of the system was delivered on time and within budget by a team of CPiO consultants. The overall solution was further enhanced by CPiO’s advice on web security. CPiO consultants quickly identified that the Tidyco website was subject to an increasing amount of hits from ‘hackers’, potentially creating a security risk to the whole IT infrastructure. A Watchguard Firebox 700 was installed and the Microsoft security software replaced with a more robust solution. The introduction of Sage Line 500, with the integrated payroll module, quickly began to pay dividends for Tidyco. Time spent on re keying information dropped significantly and updates that had previously taken hours could be completed in minutes. A 20,000 line price update can now be completed in less than ten minutes, injecting real flexibility into the Tidyco supplier relationship.
With a common Microsoft platform across all key IT applications users are able to access and manipulate data to strengthen decision making within the business. Quotations are automatically produced by pulling information from Sage Line 500 into the Tidyco contact management system, providing consistency in customer communication. “Sage Line 500 has really helped drive efficiency throughout the Tidyco business. We now have an integrated IT solution with Line 500 at its core, giving us the accessibility to our data that we needed.”
