About Pickard Hardware

From humble beginnings in a rundown, backstreet warehouse back in 1982, Pickard Hardware have grown to be a key player in the distribution industry. With a 16-strong team working on 14 computers they distribute door and window hardware to joinery manufacturers and hardware merchants across the UK and into Europe. Pickard Hardware have been using prof.ITplus since 2012.

Number of Employees: 16

Partnered with OGL since: 2012

Company Location: Keighley

Company Website: www.pickardhardware.com

OGL services help raise profitability in building hardware distributor

We spoke with the IT Director at Pickard Hardware to see how OGL has helped their business since they invested in a number of our services. “We initially started using prof.ITplus for our accounting, stock control and CRM needs. Shortly after OGL took over our hardware support which was followed by web design, build and hosting, IT security and finally the cloud-based Office 365 service. We wanted an Office solution which kept our software as up-to-date as possible and gave us access to our files and software at home as well as at work, whilst feeling safe in the knowledge that our data was stored in a secure and safe location.

“Before we moved to OGL we had a very dated software package, but because we didn’t know any better we never actually realised how much it was holding us back. We were happy with our technical support partners at the time, but we have seen real benefits from having all aspects of our IT under one roof."

The prof.ITplus software has transformed our business giving us far better visibility of our sales, purchases, stock and customer behaviour as well as increased profitability."

Pickard Hardware also commented: “Having quite a dated computer system prior to prof.ITplus we struggled to retrieve the information we needed. It was very slow and basic but the biggest issue at the time was only being able to find products in our vast stock log by searching the stock code, meaning you needed to know the exact code for every product. We are in a market where you must be able to service your customers’ needs quickly and efficiently. Having the stock at hand is a must so a good stock controlling system is paramount!”

They added: “OGL’s eShop team delivered us a modern looking website which linked in with our stock control and order processing software, keeping product information and pricing up-to-date and taking the ordering process away from our sales team by delivering the order directly to the warehouse for picking and despatching.

“Other advantages that we have experienced by working with OGL is having all our software, website design, build and hosting, security, licensing and support all under one roof. It makes it simple and easy and we can rest assured that we have one less thing to worry about. We originally spent over a year looking at several companies in our pursuit to find the best fit for our business. In the end we narrowed it down to 3 main contenders, and to be honest there didn’t appear to be a lot in them as far as cost or suitability. It was one of the hardest decisions we have had to make but in the end the fact that so many of our suppliers, customers and competitors appeared to be using prof.ITplus just made us feel it had to be the safer option, and now I have no doubt at all it was the right decision for our company.”

When asked how Office 365 had specifically benefitted the business, they commented: “All our staff are now able to use their unique licence for the Office 365 suite on a variety of platforms, desktop computers, laptops, tablets and even mobile phones, allowing them access to their work no matter where they are.