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Author: Steve Riley Date: 07 Jun 2010 Customer forum successThe recent customer days in Runcorn and Reading were a monumental success, bringing in representatives from top customers from around the UK. bisTrack 3.0 has now arrived, bringing whole new areas to the software, plus a host of tweaks to existing features. Although the core product is the bisTrack we all know and love, we’ve added new features, keeping the product fresh and ahead of the competition. Customer days are a way to showcase not only the latest software, but also to explore what the future holds. They are also a great opportunity for customers to network, find out how they use the software and for us to see what makes them tick. Managing director Arthur Duffy highlighted the problems companies have faced, with many unable to reach annual targets. He explained how PSI in contrast, have not only taken on new staff but also gained new customers during the downturn. PSI’s position in the market has gathered such positive feedback, giving a huge advantage over the competition in both software and customer service. Paul Jones, services director expanded on how PSI can help combat the problems commonly faced. He described the ups and downs we’ve faced over the past 12 months but concluded that PSI has come out of the recession stronger and continuing to grow. Product director Gary Brookshaw explained the ideas behind the new features, and his commitment to including customer feedback into the new software versions. He spoke about possible futures for the software, such as a bisTrack iPhone/iPad app. A quick raise of hands proved this idea to be extremely popular. Paul Cornford of Howarth Timber Group gave an excellent presentation on his positive experiences using bisTrack. He praised PSI on their work and plans for the future, stating “fantastic product, couldn’t live without it…” The presentations were broken up by opportunities for attendees to network and exchange ideas. A final Q&A session followed the last of the presentations, giving an opportunity to query anything PSI related. The majority of question were aimed at Gary Brookshaw, regarding future features and plans for the software, more specifically the plans to develop a bisTrack app for use on Apple-based products, like the iPhone. It's certainly encouraging that we have so many customers looking to the future. Many thanks to all who attended, we look forward to seeing you at the next one! |
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Testimonials
“Hargeaves are ideally placed to take advantage of the offer – whilst we plan to continue using e-Xact to update our product file we also want much better control over special product sales and purchases."
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves MD"We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2 million, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."
David Biddle, MD, Huntingdon Timber & Roofing"I'm happy bisTrack will grow with us. If we find we need something which isn't already incorporated, I'm confident Progressive will work with us to fill the gap."
Operations Director, CF Anderson"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans"We helped ourselves by getting bisTrack on board quickly and painlessly while business was slow, so we won't have disruption as we start to implement a very aggressive three year strategic plan."
Neil Fuller, Managing Director, Alsford Timber"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans“Hargeaves are ideally placed to take advantage of the offer – whilst we plan to continue using e-Xact to update our product file we also want much better control over special product sales and purchases."
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves MD"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"To stand out from the crowd, you need great customer service. Really great customer service."
Progressive Solutions' guest blog, Builders Merchants JournalWhat will YOU do with your week off?
"With the time saved we've carried out branch refurbishments and I've taken my first holiday!"
John Cavanagh, MD, Cavanagh Timber"The people at Progressive Solutions are likeable, straight-talking individuals who have a commitment to continuously develop and push the software forward."
Joe Tipper, Walter Tippers Ltd"bisTrack is an excellent piece of software and getting better. Their approach to meeting our needs is excellent. eBusiness is not going to be big for another 12 months but PSI are there already, which means we’re ahead. They're very open to ideas and keep getting better at turnaround."
Adam Myers, Beesley & Fildes"Once we started building up information we could trust, we started seeing real benefits. If stock accuracy was the main benefit, then quality of management information was next."
Peter Kerr, FD, Palmer Timber"We looked at several systems, but most of them were using the same out-of-date technology as the system we were replacing!"
Rodney Scoles, Director, T Brewer & Co"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"We helped ourselves by getting bisTrack on board quickly and painlessly while business was slow, so we won't have disruption as we start to implement a very aggressive three year strategic plan."
Neil Fuller, Managing Director, Alsford Timber"We improved net margin by 3% within 6 weeks of going live on bisTrack."
Payne Timber"We looked at several systems, but most of them were using the same out-of-date technology as the system we were replacing!"
Rodney Scoles, Director, T Brewer & Co"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"Inventory accuracy is higher because everyone is more focused and our staff can see the benefit of getting it right."
Ian Murchie, Operations Director, Howie Forest Products"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"The people at Progressive Solutions are likeable, straight-talking individuals who have a commitment to continuously develop and push the software forward."
Joe Tipper, Walter Tippers Ltd"We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2 million, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."
David Biddle, MD, Huntingdon Timber & Roofing"Our staff have margin figures right in front of them now, so they're much more aware of the profit they are making."
Robert Blumsom, Blumsom Fine Timber"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon"It's a very nicely laid out system with easy to follow structural menus and taskpads which, even if I haven't used a particular function before, I find relatively simple to complete."
Chris Pratt, Pratts Timber and Builders Merchants Ltd"We have a responsibility to the environment. That’s why we’re trying to lower our carbon footprint. We introduced e-commerce, cut down on paper receipts & are introducing electronic billing for customers."
Director, building materials supplier"Progressive's experience was important, as was the link with Microsoft. We think that's the way ahead for all merchant systems."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"It's a very nicely laid out system with easy to follow structural menus and taskpads which, even if I haven't used a particular function before, I find relatively simple to complete."
Chris Pratt, Pratts Timber and Builders Merchants Ltd"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans"We have a responsibility to the environment. That’s why we’re trying to lower our carbon footprint. We introduced e-commerce, cut down on paper receipts & are introducing electronic billing for customers."
Director, building materials supplier"With bisTrack we now have real-time information on our profitability, which allows us to continually optimise and make decisions on our business plan."
Stuart Hall, General Manager, Lawcris Panel Products"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"It was obvious the company was being held back by the limitations of the old system."
Operations Director, CF Anderson"bisTrack was a big investment for us but it's the best change we've ever made. We've grown so much over the last four or five years, we simply couldn't have carried on using a manual system."
Gerwyn Thomas, partner, TL Thomas (builders' merchant)"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"Our relationship with PSI has been transformed this year. This is due almost entirely to having an Account Manager as a single point of contact, who knows our system and our business."
Eric Jones, IT Manager, Alsford Timber"Good customer service is easier to achieve with good IT to back up our staff. bisTrack gives provides an efficient system for dealing with customers. Good management tools enable us to concentrate our efforts in the right direction."
David Dunmow, Group FD, James Latham plc“There are other systems of course, but none have had the development time that’s behind bisTrack. I can’t believe there’s a better system out there. I’m convinced there’s nothing that can deliver better what we need.”
Peter Buttle, md, Buttle plc"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"I was working with 2.7 in our test environment and looking at all the work you have done. Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all you do to make this a great technology partnership."
Brian King, Lumber USA"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"Implementation was achieved with absolutely no disruption to day-to-day trading. It was a joy! I'm working proactively with the system and having bisTrack doing much of our admin for us."
Scott Anderson, FD, Woodbridge Timber"Stock counting is one of the best facilities in bisTrack ever. Stock counting across multiple locations is effortless with multiple entries of the same product. Entering a count is even easier. Counting 10,000 lines used to take two of us 4 days. This time it was 8 hours."
"Inventory accuracy is higher because everyone is more focused and our staff can see the benefit of getting it right."
Ian Murchie, Operations Director, Howie Forest Products"The great thing is we can always export information to Excel and produce any report we need — such as aged debt by sales rep, or a bespoke exposure report, which assesses potential credit risk & protects us."
Damien Cosgrove, Credit Control Mgr, Noyeks Newmans"Inventory accuracy is higher because everyone is more focused and our staff can see the benefit of getting it right."
Ian Murchie, Operations Director, Howie Forest Products"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans"Once we started building up information we could trust, we started seeing real benefits. If stock accuracy was the main benefit, then quality of management information was next."
Peter Kerr, FD, Palmer Timber"bisTrack was a big investment for us but it's the best change we've ever made. We've grown so much over the last four or five years, we simply couldn't have carried on using a manual system."
Gerwyn Thomas, partner, TL Thomas (builders' merchant)"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon"Our real differential is not in software features, it's in our relationships with customers. How we work with them and how we can make an effective difference. You need the staff and the expertise to be able to do that."
Arthur Duffy, managing director, Progressive Solutions"I can export information into Excel by right-clicking and manipulate it to my heart's content."
"It's a very nicely laid out system with easy to follow structural menus and taskpads which, even if I haven't used a particular function before, I find relatively simple to complete."
Chris Pratt, Pratts Timber and Builders Merchants Ltd"I can export information into Excel by right-clicking and manipulate it to my heart's content."
"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2 million, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."
David Biddle, MD, Huntingdon Timber & Roofing"One reason we chose Progressive was because their team was so approachable. It wasn’t just because the software was better. We really felt we could work with them.”
Director, Ridgeons"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"With bisTrack we now have real-time information on our profitability, which allows us to continually optimise and make decisions on our business plan."
Stuart Hall, General Manager, Lawcris Panel Products“A member of our buying group told us about bisTrack, although we looked at four or five other software packages. Key factors in the eventual selection of bisTrack were its SQL platform and our confidence in the people we dealt with.”
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merch)"With bisTrack we now have real-time information on our profitability, which allows us to continually optimise and make decisions on our business plan."
Stuart Hall, General Manager, Lawcris Panel Products"I was working with 2.7 in our test environment and looking at all the work you have done. Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all you do to make this a great technology partnership."
Brian King, Lumber USA"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"Once we started building up information we could trust, we started seeing real benefits. If stock accuracy was the main benefit, then quality of management information was next."
Peter Kerr, FD, Palmer Timber"Performance across the system is continuously enhanced too. Since our last release, finding products is now significantly faster ...by up to 30%."
Gary Brookshaw, Product Director, Progressive Solutions"bisTrack is an excellent piece of software and getting better. Their approach to meeting our needs is excellent. eBusiness is not going to be big for another 12 months but PSI are there already, which means we’re ahead. They're very open to ideas and keep getting better at turnaround."
Adam Myers, Beesley & Fildes"Good customer service is easier to achieve with good IT to back up our staff. bisTrack gives provides an efficient system for dealing with customers. Good management tools enable us to concentrate our efforts in the right direction."
David Dunmow, Group FD, James Latham plc"It's a very nicely laid out system with easy to follow structural menus and taskpads which, even if I haven't used a particular function before, I find relatively simple to complete."
Chris Pratt, Pratts Timber and Builders Merchants Ltd"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks NewmansWhat will YOU do with your week off?
"With the time saved we've carried out branch refurbishments and I've taken my first holiday!"
John Cavanagh, MD, Cavanagh Timber“A member of our buying group told us about bisTrack, although we looked at four or five other software packages. Key factors in the eventual selection of bisTrack were its SQL platform and our confidence in the people we dealt with.”
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merch)"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"We chose bisTrack because we needed to move on to the next generation of software."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"Our staff have margin figures right in front of them now, so they're much more aware of the profit they are making."
Robert Blumsom, Blumsom Fine Timber"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"To stand out from the crowd, you need great customer service. Really great customer service."
Progressive Solutions' guest blog, Builders Merchants Journal"We helped ourselves by getting bisTrack on board quickly and painlessly while business was slow, so we won't have disruption as we start to implement a very aggressive three year strategic plan."
Neil Fuller, Managing Director, Alsford Timber"bisTrack is a terrific system and its potential is incredibly exciting. I have absolutely no regrets over choosing bisTrack and great confidence that we have something we can build on."
David Bryan, Director, Ridgeons"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"It was obvious the company was being held back by the limitations of the old system."
Operations Director, CF Anderson"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"I'm happy bisTrack will grow with us. If we find we need something which isn't already incorporated, I'm confident Progressive will work with us to fill the gap."
Operations Director, CF Anderson"We have a responsibility to the environment. That’s why we’re trying to lower our carbon footprint. We introduced e-commerce, cut down on paper receipts & are introducing electronic billing for customers."
Director, building materials supplier“There are other systems of course, but none have had the development time that’s behind bisTrack. I can’t believe there’s a better system out there. I’m convinced there’s nothing that can deliver better what we need.”
Peter Buttle, md, Buttle plc"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"Inventory accuracy is higher because everyone is more focused and our staff can see the benefit of getting it right."
Ian Murchie, Operations Director, Howie Forest Products"The time was right for a change of software at Alsford's and we selected bisTrack from a shortlist of three. The key criteria was 'business fit'. We wanted a Microsoft Windows, intuitive solution which would best serve our claim to be 'The Timber Experts' in all our 20 branches."
Neil Fuller, MD, Alsford Timber"The people at Progressive Solutions are likeable, straight-talking individuals who have a commitment to continuously develop and push the software forward."
Joe Tipper, Walter Tippers Ltd"We have a responsibility to the environment. That’s why we’re trying to lower our carbon footprint. We introduced e-commerce, cut down on paper receipts & are introducing electronic billing for customers."
Director, building materials supplier"bisTrack was a big investment for us but it's the best change we've ever made. We've grown so much over the last four or five years, we simply couldn't have carried on using a manual system."
Gerwyn Thomas, partner, TL Thomas (builders' merchant)"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"Our staff have margin figures right in front of them now, so they're much more aware of the profit they are making."
Robert Blumsom, Blumsom Fine Timber"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"I'm happy bisTrack will grow with us. If we find we need something which isn't already incorporated, I'm confident Progressive will work with us to fill the gap."
Operations Director, CF Anderson"Stock counting is one of the best facilities in bisTrack ever. Stock counting across multiple locations is effortless with multiple entries of the same product. Entering a count is even easier. Counting 10,000 lines used to take two of us 4 days. This time it was 8 hours."
"To stand out from the crowd, you need great customer service. Really great customer service."
Progressive Solutions' guest blog, Builders Merchants Journal"The reporting capabilities of bisTrack really help the sales department answer day to day enquiries. It gives them instant access to information about purchasing volumes and when timber is due to come in."
Wayne Abrams, Project Leader, Arbor Forest Products"We saw benefits straight away, particularly with the time we saved on monthly stock takes and sourcing information for management reports."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"We chose bisTrack because we needed to move on to the next generation of software."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"Once we started building up information we could trust, we started seeing real benefits. If stock accuracy was the main benefit, then quality of management information was next."
Peter Kerr, FD, Palmer Timber"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"Good customer service is easier to achieve with good IT to back up our staff. bisTrack gives provides an efficient system for dealing with customers. Good management tools enable us to concentrate our efforts in the right direction."
David Dunmow, Group FD, James Latham plc“There are other systems of course, but none have had the development time that’s behind bisTrack. I can’t believe there’s a better system out there. I’m convinced there’s nothing that can deliver better what we need.”
Peter Buttle, md, Buttle plc"One reason we chose Progressive was because their team was so approachable. It wasn’t just because the software was better. We really felt we could work with them.”
Director, Ridgeons"We looked at several systems, but most of them were using the same out-of-date technology as the system we were replacing!"
Rodney Scoles, Director, T Brewer & Co"Implementation was achieved with absolutely no disruption to day-to-day trading. It was a joy! I'm working proactively with the system and having bisTrack doing much of our admin for us."
Scott Anderson, FD, Woodbridge Timber"With bisTrack we now have real-time information on our profitability, which allows us to continually optimise and make decisions on our business plan."
Stuart Hall, General Manager, Lawcris Panel Products"I can export information into Excel by right-clicking and manipulate it to my heart's content."
"Progressive's experience was important, as was the link with Microsoft. We think that's the way ahead for all merchant systems."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"We helped ourselves by getting bisTrack on board quickly and painlessly while business was slow, so we won't have disruption as we start to implement a very aggressive three year strategic plan."
Neil Fuller, Managing Director, Alsford Timber"The time was right for a change of software at Alsford's and we selected bisTrack from a shortlist of three. The key criteria was 'business fit'. We wanted a Microsoft Windows, intuitive solution which would best serve our claim to be 'The Timber Experts' in all our 20 branches."
Neil Fuller, MD, Alsford Timber"The great thing is we can always export information to Excel and produce any report we need — such as aged debt by sales rep, or a bespoke exposure report, which assesses potential credit risk & protects us."
Damien Cosgrove, Credit Control Mgr, Noyeks Newmans"We improved net margin by 3% within 6 weeks of going live on bisTrack."
Payne Timber“Hargeaves are ideally placed to take advantage of the offer – whilst we plan to continue using e-Xact to update our product file we also want much better control over special product sales and purchases."
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves MD"Implementation was achieved with absolutely no disruption to day-to-day trading. It was a joy! I'm working proactively with the system and having bisTrack doing much of our admin for us."
Scott Anderson, FD, Woodbridge Timber"I'm happy bisTrack will grow with us. If we find we need something which isn't already incorporated, I'm confident Progressive will work with us to fill the gap."
Operations Director, CF Anderson“A member of our buying group told us about bisTrack, although we looked at four or five other software packages. Key factors in the eventual selection of bisTrack were its SQL platform and our confidence in the people we dealt with.”
Gordon Rothwell, James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merch)"We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2 million, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."
David Biddle, MD, Huntingdon Timber & Roofing"I can drop-down and drill into any business information easily, which enables me to analyse a situation very quickly. It gives me complete control."
Mark Congdon, Financial Director, Noyeks Newmans"We chose bisTrack because we needed to move on to the next generation of software."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"The decision to go with bisTrack was based on the relationship we were developing with the Progressive team, a confidence in deliverability and their aggressive approach to overall cost."
Stephen Mulhall, FD, McMahon"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"Our computer system impacts on every aspect of the business. Buying, selling, importing, transport planning, as well as accounts. If you install the wrong software, without the right level of performance or functionality, it will cause significant problems throughout your business."
"Our staff have margin figures right in front of them now, so they're much more aware of the profit they are making."
Robert Blumsom, Blumsom Fine Timber"I'm convinced there's no other system that can deliver better what we need. Apart from its Windows architecture and its powerful functionality, it now has ten years of development behind it."
Peter Buttle, Buttle plc
