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Author: Steve Riley Date: 22 Apr 2009 New management at Progressive Solutions InternationalProgressive Solutions International Limited has promoted Operations Director Arthur Duffy to Managing Director for all UK operations, at the same time inviting him to join the board of the North American parent company. Joining him on the management team is Neil Richards, newly appointed as Services Director for the UK. Mr Duffy, 50, has been with the company for three years, during which time the company has recorded consistent growth – 40% in the last year and a turnover of more than £3.4m. He leads a team of 30 employees in the UK, has overall responsibility for business direction in Europe, and drives sales within the key markets in the construction supply industries. He commented: “Businesses are depending upon IT more and more, so we're in a strong position to provide a service, not only to support them through the current difficult times, but also to help them bring their ideas to fruition.” Mr Richards, 41, joins the company from Hewlett-Packard where he was UK sales manager for technical sales and previously head of the computer giant’s 70-strong UK pre-sales division. Progressive Solutions, based in Runcorn, provides a suite of software, called bisTrack. More than 100 builders’ merchants, timber companies and other construction supply companies now use the software, and Progressive’s strength is how well they understand the peculiarities of this specialised market. The bisTrack software allows customers to computerise the basics of their business such as buying stock, selling products, pricing, bar-coding and analysing sales. The company prides itself on providing business solutions, rather than just software — using the wealth of information available from the software as a tool to improve business processes, via bisTrack’s advanced management tools. Commenting on the company’s investment in new management, Len Williams, President and CEO of parent company Progressive Solutions Incorporated, based in Vancouver Canada, said: “Arthur has a wealth of experience from the construction and IT industries and of growing businesses over many years. The company is in a new phase of growth despite the economic downturn and his passion for finding solutions to customers’ needs can only mean a great future for the business.” He added: “Neil comes from a blue-chip background. He is firmly devoted to the notions of customer satisfaction and moving our organisation forwards. We expect his very results-driven approach to make a significant impact on how we service our customers and drive the development of new tailored software solutions for customers.” |
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Testimonials
"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"We spent a long time evaluating several systems and I'm confident that bisTrack is the best available."
Andrew Laver, Arnold Laver Timberworld"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"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"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."
"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"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"I can export information into Excel by right-clicking and manipulate it to my heart's content."
"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 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"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 can export information into Excel by right-clicking and manipulate it to my heart's content."
"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"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"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"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"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"There’s no doubt that bisTrack is a good tool. We’ve a fantastic record for growth and we’re getting a lot out of bisTrack now, particularly over the control of our business."
Mike MacLellan, MD, GPH Builders Merchant"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 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"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"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."
"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"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"We chose bisTrack because we needed to move on to the next generation of software."
Stephen Fairbairn, MD, Henry Alty"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"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"To stand out from the crowd, you need great customer service. Really great customer service."
Progressive Solutions' guest blog, Builders Merchants Journal"If we hadn't changed to bisTrack we simply couldn't have grown like this."
Nigel Williams, Chairman, Premier Forest Products"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."
"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
