"I was impressed with its functionality when it was demonstrated to us, but what also appealed to me was that the system is being constantly developed," says Jack McClenaghan, managing director of Phoenix Merchants of County Down, Northern Ireland. The company have been using the software for two months, and McClanaghan feels that it has improved the efficiency of his trade counter considerably.
More modern
The company previously used an old legacy system for their operation, which held pricebook and customer information and could produce basic management reports. Phoenix decided to look for a more modern system when it became clear that the legacy program was coining to the end of its life and support from the software provider was no longer available. The company chose bisTrack as the best option to allow them to improve stock control and management reporting.
"Order processing is much faster now as you can use any search criteria to call up products."
Of the six members staff currently using bisTrack at Phoenix, it's the trade counter staff who are noticing the biggest difference to their work.
Staff member Andrew Taylor says: "Order processing is much faster now as you can use any search criteria to call up products. Also when we typed an order into the old system, if anything needed to be changed, such as the name on the invoice, we had to start it all over again. In bisTrack you can also park orders if you're interrupted and then go back and finish them. It's so much more flexible than the old system."
"I like the way I can immediately check a customer's history on screen instead of going into the back office to find out what he bought and how much he paid for it."
Ronnie Magowan also works on Phoenix Merchants' shop floor. He commented on the system's flexibility: "On our old system, we couldn't convert quotes to orders like you can in bisTrack. And I like the way I can immediately check a customer's history on screen instead of going into the back office to find out what he bought and how much he paid for it."
Internet access
With internet access at the trade counter, staff can now access product specifications on suppliers' websites and validate Irish customers' VAT numbers online. Previously, staff had to phone the VAT office for every customer.
McClenaghan: "Although it's very powerful, there's nothing intimidating about bisTrack. It looks familiar and is really easy for the staff to use. And, although we're not using it to its full capacity yet, I'm fully aware of its potential."
