Developing the tools for business growth

Company Profile

Glasgow-based Kelvin Power Tools Ltd is a retail and wholesale supplier of power tools and accessories. The business concentrates on the industrial market, offering premium brands such as Bosch, DeWalt and Panasonic.

The business was founded in 1977 as a power tool repair company by MD John Breslin. Today, the company is a significant player in the power tool market in Scotland.

Problem/Challenge

Rapid business growth and a wish to make maximum use of IT to improve efficiency prompted Kelvin Power Tools to review the company’s existing business management software, Sage 50, which the company had simply outgrown. Speed of service and access to information is vital to the business processes of Kelvin Power Tools so fast Sales Order Processing was required to meet their needs.

The company also wanted to begin trading online and needed the new back-office system to handle orders, stock information and customer data from their website. Kelvin also wanted a system to allow them to market their offerings more effectively in a tradecounter environment.

Solution

Kelvin opted for Sage 200 with Eureka Solutions developing a customised Telesales and Tradecounter solution for them that would go on to become an out-of-the-box solution, now used by several Sage 200 users - Sage 200 Sales Order Plus. The Sales Order Plus gave Kelvin functionality that was vital to the running of their organisation, such as fast order entry, access to previous sales information and add previously bought items.

A custom workshop database was also created allowing Kelvin to log repairs, send estimates to customers by text and add part details from a supplier CD, and was fully integrated to Sage 200 Financials and Sage 200 Commercials.

Working in conjunction with Kelvin’s web developers, the Adeo Group, Eureka Solutions created the Sage 200 Data Exchange module, giving integration between Adeo’s ecommerce platform and Sage 200. This means that Kelvin can upload product information such as stock and price, as well as images to their website automatically. In addition, customer and order information can be downloaded automatically into Sage 200 from Kelvin’s website.

As part of the Sage 200 Suite, Sage 200 CRM and Sage E-Marketing gave Kelvin Power Tools the ability to effectively market their products. Sales history, customer data, customer segmentation and marketing campaigns are all able to be centrally managed and available throughout the whole organisation. Integration with Sage E-marketing gives Kelvin the ability to send targeted, mass email marketing communications to their various customer groups.