Fire Glass UK is a nationwide supplier of fire rated and other specialist glass which offers a supply only or a specialist glazing installation service tailored to each individual project. Over the past few years Fire Glass UK have rapidly expanded all areas of its business, resulting in a need to invest in a better system, in particular the management of their estimating and order processing systems – which were fast becoming out-dated and inefficient.
Fire Glass UK could see the need to improve its internal organisation and after considerable market research came to the conclusion that Jotika’s Gtrak 3 ERP system seemed best positioned to fulfil these requirements for them. When asked to comment on their reasons for choosing Jotika software, Fire Glass UK said “Jotika are one of the UK’s leading software developers for the glass industry and we are delighted to be working with them. We have also been influenced by some employees who have had positive experiences in using Gtrak 3. Jotika are committed to offering us a great service which stood out from other systems on the market – not forgetting the cost, which was very competitive.”
Jotika’s Gtrak 3 ERP system will dramatically reduce the time spent on in-house inputting and processing from the initial enquiry and quote stage right through to order, delivery and invoice. Fire Glass UK has invested in the software system with the aim of enhancing its customer service under the ‘Fire Glass Promise’ (SQS: Safety, Quality and Service).
Fire Glass UK have already started to see a difference in performance since using the software. The system allows for faster order searching and sorting – enabling staff its staff to handle customer queries much more efficiently and provides increased capacity performance data, which will improve real-time delivery and lead-time information for customers.
Sean Haynes, Managing Director of Fire Glass UK, said:
“The investment behind the system not only allows us to continue to improve the service we provide to our customers, which is our main priority, but also enables us to meet our strategic goal of maximising our production capacity and improving efficiency across all areas of the business. To date we have reduced glass waste by 2% and our target is to reduce this by 5% in the year ahead”. The Gtrak 3 system will vastly enhance Fire Glass UK’s ability to fully optimise all orders. Jotika’s Gtrak 3 system has a wide-range of batch selection strategies, allowing the precise sequencing of products from cutting to loading for delivery. Since production uses the same data as order processing, urgent orders can be entered and added to a batch immediately. All users will have access to real-time order progress (streamlining delivery scheduling) as well as current and spare capacity data. Customer and staff feedback on the new system to date has been excellent and Fire Glass UK are pleased with the roll-out process. Sean continued “Things are going well so far, and we’ve seen a big difference already. The roll-out and staff training process has been smooth, and we’ve had little or no disruption to our office or production output. We know there is more that the system has to offer, and we are looking forward to seeing how the system will help us meet our plans for the future”.
To date, the new system has been successfully rolled-out to all five branches; with ongoing technical support from Jotika’s support team. The Gtrak 3 system runs alongside Fire Glass UK’s existing IT software and Integrated Management System (IMS). Following implementation of its IMS last year, one of the company’s long-term aims has been to produce the vast majority of its documentation electronically and become as paperless as possible. The new Jotika software system will go a long way in helping Fire Glass UK achieve that goal.
Brian Gold Jotika Managing Director gives an overview of the software implemented and the benefits:
“We have been working with Fire Glass UK for a considerable amount of time to develop the right solutions for a number of increasing demands the company was facing. Over the course of a number of meetings, the company’s requirements were clearly identified and it was clear that the company would benefit from our Gtrak 3 glass software. More specifically, an integrated solution was required whilst also focussing on key areas of the business such as glass optimisation, stock control and traceability, delivery planning and visibility of sales and production data. Jotika Software has specific product modules that target these business areas which can be used as part of Gtrak 3 ERP or as individual modules. Fire Glass UK has been using these modules with great success already. Flexible graphical reporting from Jotika’s SQL Dashboard has already helped save valuable time by collating specific data on optimising run and delivery run profits and is a tool the company believe will also benefit branch and group management. I am personally very pleased to be working with Fire Glass UK on this project and am glad that the products have been well received at each branch. The feedback has been excellent, and we look forward to seeing the company grow using our software as an important part of their development and future.”
In summary, Fire Glass UK sees its investment in Gtrak 3 as a way of future proofing its business for further growth in the coming years. As Fire Glass UK looks to move into new markets Gtrak 3 will allow them to carry out day to day tasks in an efficient way giving all staff more time to concentrate on the growth they are looking to achieve.