E F F I C I E N T

F L E X I B L E

T A I L O R E D

A U T O M A T I C

Barr Limited
When Barr Quarries, part of Barr Limited, needed a way to automate their quotation, invoice and delivery note processes for a new Sales Order and Dispatch system, they chose to integrate business automation and report scheduling from ChristianSteven Software. The resulting solution has enabled Barr to eliminate costly manual paper processes, drive greater efficiency and gain better control with a full electronic audit trail of all transactions. Background and Challenge The Barr group is a large and diverse business involved in construction, civil engineering, quarries, road surfacing, waste management,

cuts costs and drives greater efficiency with SQL-RD business automation software
pre-cast concrete and steel fabrication and erection. Projects include major retail developments, schools, hospitals, offices and sports stadia for clients such as the Scottish Executive, NHS Trusts, local authorities, Tesco, Sainsburys, Southampton F.C. and Leyton Orient F.C. While developing a new Sales Order & Dispatch System for the Barr Quarries division, Bill Ramsay, Information Systems Manager for Barr Limited, saw the opportunity to automate the business manual quoting process, The Quarries division generates tens of thousands of quotes and re-quotes each year. This was a costly manual process that was difficult to

Windows Vista and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

S Q L - R D - A U T O M AT E D R E P O R T D I S T R I B U T I O N S O F T W A R E F O R M I C R O S O F T S Q L S E R V E R

track and audit. Our original thinking with the new Sales Dispatch System was to simply print the quotes using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, but I felt there must be a better solution.

Solution and Benefits ChristianSteven Software SQL-RD is now a fully operational part of the live system. Bill is delighted with how things have turned out. This is a key business process and SQL-RD has proved to be very robust, running in-line, in real-time with no major issues. Quotations are now automatically dispatched by email or fax as soon as the sales person clicks send, with invoices queued to be sent overnight. Bill is also impressed with how SQL-RD enables email to be fully customised and personalised. To our customers and suppliers they look like they have come directly from our sales team. Having a full electronic audit trail of all transactions has also enabled us to significantly cut the time spent resolving and responding to customer or supplier queries. Requirements Off-the-shelf solution for automating key business processes, capable of sending personalised and customised emails and faxes Easy integration with Microsoft SQL Server-based sales system Enterprise-class solution capable of playing a core role in business operations Flexible, easy-to-use and reliable solution that could be used for automating processes in other parts of the business Benefits Cut costs and drove greater efficiency by eliminating several manual paper-based business processes In addition, SQL-RD has been used to transform the Barr Quarries delivery note process. Bill adds, Where we use external hauliers who are only paid when we receive a copy of the signed delivery note, we use SQL-RD to schedule a daily report and automatically email any hauliers with outstanding delivery notes. This way we ensure our customers receive their deliveries, and the hauliers get paid on time. The Future Bill is delighted with SQL-RD, We were able to demonstrate real value to the business in a relatively short space of time, and are still only just scratching the surface of what SQL-RD Greater control and increased productivity through a full electronic
DESIGNHUT.CO.UK - JN849

Bill came across ChristianSteven Software SQL-RD while searching online for a business automation suite and realised it could easily be integrated into the new system and used to automate the manual quoting process. Using an off-the-shelf package would also save coding this part of the system from scratch, a task that would have significantly increased delivery timescales. Bill continues, We were developing the Sales Dispatch System on Microsoft SQL Server, and so SQL-RD from ChristianSteven Software was a perfect fit, especially since it supported data and event-driven schedules which would allow us to automate sending emails, PDF attachments and faxes, as well as the automated scheduling and delivery of management reports. I could also see how we could use it to enhance the system to include our invoicing and delivery note processes.

audit trail of all transactions Significantly less expensive and quicker than coding functionality from scratch Return on investment further maximised by applying solution to similar processes across other Barr divisions

Bill downloaded the 30-day trial of SQL-RD and was immediately impressed. He explains The software was intuitive and easy-to-use and, above all, very reliable - it just worked. After a short pilot and approval from the rest of the team, SQL-RD was configured and integrated into the live system.

can do. We already have plans to automate processes in a similar way across other Barr divisions, starting with our environmental business. This will further maximise our return on investment in this unique, easy-to-use and reliable business automation and report scheduling solution.

SQL-RD for Microsoft SQL Server, part of the powerful range of business automation software, alongside CRD for Crystal Reports and MARS for Microsoft Access.

ChristianSteven Software Ltd. (USA) 10130 Mallard Creek Road, Suite 300, Charlotte NC 28262, USA ChristianSteven Software Ltd. (UK) 29 Harley Street, London, W1G 9QR, UK

1 (888) 781 8966 +44 (0)845 686 0181 +1 (847) 461 1617 +44 (0)845 686 0181 +44 (0)845 686 0181

www.christiansteven.com

Americas Europe, Middle East & Africa Asia & Pacific