Case Study: Prolight Concepts.
ERP Software trusted by Wholesalers, Distributors & Merchants across
the United Kingdom.
Challenges Faced Before Implementation.
Prolight Concepts, a distribution-oriented business, encountered several operational challenges before adopting Interprise Suite. According to them, “Our previous system was more tailored to the manufacturing industry, it had some distribution elements but as our main business is distribution, we need a system that was more inventory and distribution led, we also wanted a clear insight into our business. We were also doing a new website at the same time, and needed a new system that had the API capabilities to advance us further in that area too.”
Prolight Concepts needed a system that could effectively handle inventory and distribution tasks while offering a deeper understanding of their business. Concurrently, they were in the process of launching a new website and required a solution with advanced API capabilities to support their digital endeavours.
According to them, “Time, fluidity, and progression – we had to a lot of workarounds in the system to achieve what we wanted, and there wasn’t any scope for development.”
The turning point came with the company’s rapid growth. They recognised the need for an ERP solution that could scale with their expanding operations and seamlessly integrate with their new website. “Our website has grown quickly over the last few years, and we needed an ERP solution that could grow with us, alongside the website” they said.
From an order-processing perspective, the absence of card payment options was a notable hindrance, leading to time-consuming manual payment processes. According to Prolight Concepts, “Speed and time were the main things, not only with order processing, but payment too, we didn’t have any option for card payment links and had to take them all over the phone.”
Managing price lists, although not overly, complex, proved labour-intensive due to the system’s limitations. Reporting was a major pain point, with standard reports providing unclear data and limited export options. Critical information, such as stock details, reordering data, and sales and CRM reports, remained elusive. “100% this was the biggest problem, the standard reports were not clear and limited especially the export options, so we had to design our own or pull data ad hoc and do excel work to get what we wanted,” they stated.
Their business environment was marked by sporadic manual work in spreadsheets and cumbersome workarounds. The integration with their previous website presented further challenges.
Post-Implementation: Interprise Suite Drives Efficiency and Service Excellence
Upon implementing Interprise Suite, Prolight Concepts witnessed substantial improvements in their operations and customer service.
According to them, “The reporting is amazing, and the fact that you can export it in many formats is such a big help. We have saved so much time with order entry, not only from an inputting point of view, but the fact you can import orders and send payment links.”
However, the true transformation lay not just in the software, but in the customer service provided by Apex. According to Prolight Concepts, “I think the biggest difference though is the difference in customer service from you as a provider compared to our last one, you have gone above and beyond to meet our requirements.”
Looking ahead, Prolight Concepts had ambitious business goals for the next 12 months, including continued growth and the full implementation of efficient picking and packing processes. Interprise was seen as a crucial enabler of these objectives, owing to our committed customer service and ongoing system enhancements to suit Prolight Concepts.
From an order processing perspective, the improvements were remarkable. Clearer stock information and rapid order entry, especially with order import capabilities became the new norm. Carrier integration was seamless and quickly embraced by the warehouse team, and is poised to deliver even greater benefits with picking and dispatch notes.
According to Prolight Concepts, “This is probably one of the biggest differences for us, it has given us more time to support and service our customers. We can build the relationships with them, rather than just taking card payments which could be 200+ a day.”
The integration of Square Up proved to be a game-changer, resulting in substantial time savings. This newfound time allowed the team to focus on building stronger customer relationships, a task that had previously taken a back seat due to manual card payment processing.
The team’s appreciate for Interprise Suite’s reporting capabilities continued to grow, particularly its versatile data export options. The system catered to individual team members’ needs, from sales analysis to profit and RMA reporting. “At-a-glance” dashboards provided quick access to critical information.
Interprise Suite’s reporting and data analysis tools transformed Prolight Concepts into a more responsive company, enabling prompt responses to trends issues and ultimately supporting informed decisions to enhance the level of service they can provide their customers.
Customer Quotes.
“Our previous system was more tailored to the manufacturing industry, but we needed a system that was more inventory and distribution led, and Interprise provided that.”
