Hilton Instruments works smarter with Sage 200

Companies servicing the fast-moving oil and gas industry know that smart working is key to securing repeat business from blue-chip clients.

For Aberdeen-based laboratory supply specialist, Hilton Instruments Ltd, upgrading from Sage Line 100 to Sage 200 in November 2008 enabled the 21-year-old company to streamline its business processes to meet demand from an expanding international market.

“We’d been using Line 100 for around 10 years and felt we’d started to outgrow it and that we needed to move with the times,” explains Managing Director Kevin Norrie. “Sage 200 is very user-friendly; it provides us with more information and now supports all our day-to-day business transactions.”

Hilton Instruments services a niche market, not only supplying general laboratory supplies to the oil and gas industry in the UK, Europe, Africa, Caspian Sea and Middle East, but also providing equipment servicing, calibration, repair and testing, as well as dangerous goods packaging, local and overseas equipment installation, laboratory furniture, and complete laboratory refurbishment projects.

Efficient management of its diverse inventory is essential for the company, and Sage 200 provides this with accurate, fully-automated stock control. In addition, the bolt-on Sage CRM package provides useful sales and customer information, helping the company track quotations and customer feedback.

“CRM is a great sales tool,” says Kevin. “It builds an accurate picture of what potential and existing customers think of our services and which services they are choosing – or not choosing – to use. This helps us to plan and improve.”

With PlusOne’s support, Hilton Instruments adopted a progressive approach to implementing Sage 200, making sure staff were comfortable working with each module before moving on to the next. Later this year, the company plans to start using the system’s sales invoice emailing facility which will save the time and costs currently incurred by hard copy invoice printing and postage. It will also introduce ‘back-to-back’ ordering, whereby the system automatically creates new purchase orders for replacement of items that go out of stock.

“We’re very happy both with the new system and with the level of service we receive from PlusOne,” says Kevin. “They have a broad base of knowledge and always respond immediately to any queries or issues we have. As a support company, they are invaluable to us.”

www.hiltoninstruments.com