Making the switch

Burbage Custom Windows has moved from being a predominantly retail fabricator, supplying customers in and around Leicestershire, to a trade specialist manufacturing around 600 PVCU windows a week and supplying customers nationwide via a fleet of seven delivery trucks thanks to Business Micros’ EvoNET business management software.

Director James Meah said: “EvoNET is now a ‘virtual factory manager’ at Burbage Custom Windows, managing every aspect of production right through from receipt of the order all the way to despatch.

“We made the decision to commit 100% to the EvoNET system and now use virtually all the modules available to automate our entire operation and increase productivity. This has been crucial as the shift from retail to trade has taken place, particularly because EvoNET allows our operations team to see instant updates of business performance any time via a simple dashboard viewer.”

As well as setting up EvoNET scanning points throughout the factory, which have enabled Burbage to switch to efficient paperless production, the business has also installed large screens that display the required output for each day and help to motivate the shopfloor team by counting down that total as each frame is completed.

Everything from importing online orders to tracking service calls is now managed within EvoNET, with almost every department within Burbage operating at optimum efficiency as a result, the company said.

“From order inputting to after sales service, we don’t waste time on unnecessary tasks or paperwork and we don’t lose time to human error,” James said. “Instead, EvoNET enables us to provide a consistently seamless service that makes it easy for trade customers to do business with us.

“It has been a considerable investment but, in terms of how it has enabled us to upscale, it is paying huge dividends. When you choose EvoNET, you are essentially becoming a Business Micros partner. They are the market leaders for a reason and the team there have ensured that the software works in exactly the way we want it to, as well as providing impressive levels of support so that we never feel exposed by our reliance on it.

“EvoNET is also very simple and intuitive to use so, after the initial training phase, all our staff have embraced the technology with very impressive results.”