About Castle Industrial Supplies

Castle Industrial Supplies’ vision is to supply globally recognised packaging products and solutions that will provide their customers with a more efficient and profitable operation. The business’s ethos is based on attention to detail to ensure that each and every customer request is dealt with efficiently and with the utmost of professionalism. Established over 20 years ago, the family-run business employs a team of 20, with an annual turnover in the region of £7 million. The company has around 700 active customers, handles approximately 250 sales per week and holds between 500 and 700 regular product lines.

Number of Employees: 20

Partnered with OGL since: 2014

Company Location: Carnforth

Company Website: www.castleindustrial.com

prof.ITplus CRM uncovers thousands of pounds worth of untouched sales potential 

Castle Industrial Supplies has been using prof.ITplus since the beginning of 2014, having been previous users of Sage 200 software.

OGL had been aware of Castle Industrial Supplies for some time prior to them deciding to partner with us; we had sent information to the company’s directors as we were so certain that OGL Software could transform the way they were working for the better We were delighted when the Director contacted our sales team in 2013 to say that they had outgrown Sage 200 and were looking for a software system to match their aspirations for further growth. Following a number of meetings it became increasingly obvious that prof.ITplus could eradicate many of the gripes felt with Sage 200.

The Marketing Manager for Castle Industrial Supplies, commented: “OGL identified early on that prof.ITplus was a perfect fit for our organisation and assured us that all existing data in Sage 200 could be extracted and transferred over. Having spent time with staff around the business, OGL Business Software Consultant, Mike Cross, set out all the ways that a new system would improve the business – mainly around becoming much more efficient and sales-focussed.

 "What attracted us most was the visibility prof.ITplus could provide about our customers’ behaviours and buying patterns. We were excited that we’d have the tools to uncover new sales leads amongst our existing client-base. For example, since installing prof.ITplus we now have alerts set up so similar products are highlighted when inputting a telephone order and we have trained all our staff to always probe to see if the customer needs these similar items that they may have forgotten or not realised we supply.”

Whilst our Software Support desk is on hand for any day-to-day queries as they arise, either by telephone or email, the more in-depth discussions about ensuring the full power of prof.ITplus is exploited are carried out by our Account Managers during their quarterly visits. In addition we can arrange bespoke training sessions on any aspect of  the system, either at our headquarters or our trainers can come to you.

The benefits of a fully integrated system for data management 

When we asked about the main positive impact of prof.ITplus at Castle Industrial Supplies, the director gave us a familiar answer, “all business data is in one, integrated system, making the running of the company so much easier.”

He added: “The other key positive is the use of the SalesVision module to produce a visual scoreboard in the main sales office which displays up-to-the-minute data on our performance for that day, week, month and year. Essential for staff motivation and hitting targets.”

Furthermore, he highlighted the ability to produce detailed stock reports as a  key function of prof.ITplus that he rates highly and commented that the annual stock-taking procedures are greatly improved and are no longer a painfully inefficient time for the business. “It’s also worth mentioning, about a member of the team from our Accounts Department who is generally resistant to change and struggled with prof.ITplus at first, however after getting into it he now finds the system very good to use. Thousands of pounds worth of sales have been generated from these relatively simple steps courtesy of prof.ITplus". 

He concluded: “I would recommend prof.ITplus to any organisation where it 
 is suited.”