New double-glazing company SafeGlaze only started trading at the end of 2016. Yet in early 2018 their operation was proving so successful that they began to expand exponentially, putting pressure on their internal processes, systems, and staff.  

Here’s how Smart IT was able to help them through this transition and safeguard the future growth of the business. 

The challenge

As SafeGlaze experienced rapid growth in the last quarter of 2017 and early 2018, it became clear that the business was not equipped to cope with its success. They needed a system in place which could keep all their business processes in one place and could expand as the company did. 

Aware of Smart IT’s experience in the marketplace and our ability to work with clients undergoing a period of significant expansion, they got in touch. 

After an initial chat, it was clear that SafeGlaze needed a fully integrated ERP system. It would be straightforward in terms of being a new implementation, with no rip and replace, or retrofit. However, the real challenge lay in accommodating the scope of works, which was a moving feast thanks to ever-changing and expanding client requirements—as user numbers increased from under 10 to nearly 200 in a matter of weeks.  

The Smart IT solution

We began by giving the team at SafeGlaze a demo of the Odoo solution. Once we agreed that this could be a fully integrated system that would work for them, Smart IT worked alongside key members of the team to learn more about their business flow. This helped us see how they could either work to fit Odoo or how the package could be changed to better fit them. 

It soon became clear that the solution would need to work from the beginning of their sales process, when a sales team is face to face with the customer, to the installation team fitting the windows, and beyond, to the post-installation customer service. In other words, it would have to be an end-to-end package, moving a contract between different stages and members of the team.

After understanding the requirements, we set to work designing each element as an individual task. This is where we ensured the task was fit-for-purpose, by taking it through at least two developers in the design stage, before being worked on by a developer. It was then passed to the quality control team who tested the requirement and produced a full test case to share with SafeGlaze—where it was checked as to its suitability for their users.

Once we had their approval on that development, we arranged the all-important client training and started planning for deployment. 

All through this process we made sure we had regular contact and on-site time with the client. This helped avoid any issues with the changing scope and ensured any new developments were valid. It also allowed the client team time to understand the new system and processes, and how they would affect their own work area. 

Results

We’ve worked with growing companies before, but never at this pace—with SafeGlaze registering triple revenue figures in a matter of only 3 months. It was therefore essential for them to seek an ERP solution that would allow the business not only to cope with intense growth, but flourish with it. 

Following a straightforward implementation, SafeGlaze now has a fully integrated, responsive and intuitive Odoo solution that covers every aspect of their contract journey from sales to installation to service. 

By designing it in line with their working processes, it has enabled the company to operate far more effectively and has helped alleviate the pressure on the workforce, keeping them motivated and their morale up. It is also designed to be future proof, by offering scalability and flexibility to ensure it will cover this rapidly growing company as their success continues. And by having Smart IT as their local, proactive IT partner, SafeGlaze can be sure they’ll be supported for years to come.

Phil O’Malley, Managing Director, SafeGlaze is impressed with the return on investment his company is already experiencing: 

“This system has revolutionised and streamlined our processes and provided a platform for growth. It we imperative we worked with a consultancy that understood our business model and could respond with a system spec that was flexible and scalable as well as having all the fundamentals you expect of an enterprise ERP system.

“Smart IT did a great job and we are continuing to work with them to consider other ways of improving other areas of our business with strategically deployed technology .”

Key benefits 

• Improved staff productivity by 20+% 

• Real-time visibility across sales, operations and customer services.

• Role-based profiles give personnel flexibility.

• Reduced cycle time.

• Scalability and integration savings.

• SaaS moves from Capex to Opex model.

• Significantly improved standardisations in working practices and process flows.

• Scalability to flex quickly with expansion.