Business Micros is the largest specialist software provider serving the UK window fabrication industry. Established in 1979, it has grown alongside the market and now have 3,000 customers and 34 staff.

Best known for its Quest, Winstar and Evolution software packages, it nonetheless has a policy of continuous new product innovation. It carries out all its software development in house and has both the technical and financial resources to be able to develop new products quickly and cost effectively.

One of the latest developments from the company is bar code scanning - familiar to us all from the supermarket sector - but until now not an affordable option for most medium to large fabricators.

However, Business Micros has developed a solution for its Evolution software package which can be purchased as an add-on module for as little as £10,000.

Bar code scanning enables fabricators to track stock from receipt, throughout the manufacturing process and right the way to despatch.
Not only does it have the potential to control wastage and pilfering but it also helps maximise material utilisation and improves overall efficiency.

Business Micros has a number of customers who have been using the system effectively for several years and it is very well proven and completely glitch free.

The company is determined to drive forward the pace of innovation and is already looking to the next key development in this sector which it claims will be true on-line ordering. Instead of fabricators having to provide their installers with individual software packages to enable them to order on-line, Business Micros is currently piloting a new system which will eliminate this cost.

The system is being piloted by a major customer and reports so far are very positive. The new system relies on fabricators investing in a larger server to handle all the traffic generated by customer orders. Installers are simply given a password to allow them access to a dedicated area of the server to place orders and monitor deliveries rather than having to be set up with individual software packages.

Other developments from Business Micros are still under wraps but will encompass new products for both the PVC-U and aluminium sectors.

Watch this space!

Posted on 23rd May 05