Geoff Law, Director
Glendower Cutting Tools
Glendower Cutting Tools began in 1972 as a small tool and cutter grinding company, reservicing high speed steel cutters. Now the company manufactures carbide inserts for milling and threading, special formed inserts, solid carbide saws and much more, plus they're a distributor for many other manufacturers from their offices in Leicester.
Glendower has expanded the team to over 20 people and their product catalogue to over 10,000 products with future ambitions to grow and expand their offering.
Download Case Study PDF
Glendower implemented OGL Software to improve their efficiencies and give them flexibility and scalability to grow. With plans to invest in new machinery that will help them increase capacity, Glendower needed a reliable and comprehensive ERP system that can manage both the distribution and manufacturing functions of the business.
With growing pressures from the competition, Glendower looked to OGL Software to transform their operations and empower their team to drive the business forward.
Before OGL Software the company used Sage 50, the Director of Glendower explained: "We all hated Sage. It's an accounting system that has been amended to look like a sales system, which it isn't. Sage didn't include a management solution for manufacturing, so it wasn't good enough.
"We looked at OGL Software as well Sage 200 and another competitor but within half an hour of the other demos we knew OGL Software was the more flexible and intuitive system, so we went with OGL Software. One of the best investments we ever made was in OGL Software, it does everything we've always wanted from a system."
"The system has been awesome for managing our manufacturing. Previously our system was separate, and we didn't have the level of traceability we needed. We needed to know who created a product and exactly what components they used for our ISO 9001:2015 audits. We use the Works Order Processing function in OGL Software and it works tremendously. We can have a customer call up and I can go into a product and not only see exactly how many we have in stock but also how much we can make from the components we have allowing us to secure an order right away.
"Once we'd completed a job, we'd previously have endless order forms which needed someone with particular knowledge to understand them, which is OK until someone is off on holiday or is off sick. With OGL Software everything is centralised so staff could be off for 6 months and we wouldn't need to ask anyone for answers you can just trust the system."
Not only has the system allowed Glendower to work more effectively but it's also allowed them to complete their ISO audits easier: "Previously our worksheets were filed separately, so when we had an audit we'd have to go back through paperwork, and it was difficult to keep track. But now we can scan in the worksheets and attach them to the works order. This means we can now find the right information with a click of a button. We've also integrated our Quality Management System to OGL Software so everything about our suppliers is in one place. Even the ISO auditors have said what a good system it is. With OGL Software everything from taking the powder out of the tin, to the customer paying, is seamless."
Managing the manufacturing process is an integral part of OGL Software for Glendower but the software also manages all other areas of the business from order processing to invoicing. The Director explains: "The system has helped with our customer service. We have complete visibility of our customers' order history and all special and promotional pricing is set up in the software. This means we can place orders quickly for our customers. Even our reps on the road can provide this service when in front of our customers. Even our reps on the road can provide this service as they can access the database remotely and discuss their account, raise orders and solve queries whilst in the meeting to avoid losing a sale to another supplier.
"Previously if customers had accounts queries, they'd be passed to our accounts department because the sales team wouldn't want to get involved. But now the system gives us the visibility and makes it easy to see if a customer is on stop or how much they owe meaning we're more efficient and can serve customers quicker.
"We also manage all our purchasing in OGL Software which was previously very manual. The order would come from sales and our team in purchasing would have to re-key the order to send to the supplier which was prone to error. Now the software sends the purchase orders straight to the supplier.
"Our improved efficiencies were highlighted during the pandemic lockdown. We had to furlough all our staff apart from three employees and whilst we'd shut down the manufacturing, the three employees were still able to manage the distribution processes all the way through. The system takes out the hard work and drives what we do allowing us to remain at 60% of our turnover with just three members of staff. That's obviously also down to the hard-working team but having a system that is intuitive and efficient helps massively.
"We got to a stage, prior to OGL Software, where if we took on more orders from our distribution sector, we'd need to hire more staff as the buying and selling process was so laborious. We currently sit at a 50% split between our manufacturing and distribution orders but with OGL Software we could easily take that to 80% of re-selling because the system is big enough to handle it. We've had one person retire since we've had the system and had no need to replace them - the software has made us more efficient. Our turnover was less than £2 million before we implemented the system but now, we've driven that up to £2.5 million with less staff. That's been made possible because of a few factors but OGL Software is a big part of our business."
To achieve a successful ERP system implementation, it's crucial that the entire business buys into the software, this is what Glendower believes has been key in the success of OGL Software. "Our sales consultant told us we needed to take part in a training programme and we believed we could manage without it, but it's one of the best things we did. It helped everyone get fully on board with the system and it meant everyone understood 95% of the software, so when we went live, we all believed in it and wanted it to work. Otherwise you're at risk of people losing faith if there's an issue 2 days in. One of our warehouse staff loved the previous system, but through the training he was bought on board and now he doesn't know how we'd cope without it. The training was crucial to the successful implementation and allowing us to move forward.
"Businesses don't want to invest in software as they don't believe a system could improve the business enough to see the value. But it's not until you do it that you realise how efficient it's made you. The advice I give to other companies who are yet to invest is just do it! You need to trust your supplier, make sure you do the full training and it's always helpful to speak to other businesses who use the software. Through the implementation and since, the backup we've had from the software support team has been great. When you work with a professional company you expect a professional service and that's one thing I can 100% say we've always had from OGL. As you can tell we love the system and anybody who ever asks us about OGL Software, I always recommend it and that's the biggest compliment you can have!"
Download Case Study PDF
Everything you need to know about moving from Sage 50 to Profit4.
Take full control of your stock with real-time visibility of stock levels across all locations.
"Now I can quote, convert to order & make a PO in half a dozen clicks."
