Since it was established in West Bromwich in 1992, Central CRC has always maintained a policy of investment and reinvestment.
This has seen the Duraflex trade fabricator spend almost £500,000 in recent years on new machinery and capital equipment and was the key reason for its investment earlier this year in the EvoNET business management software from Business Micros.
Alongside the Evolution manufacturing software, EvoNET gives managers access to instant status updates on any aspect of their business` performance.
Central CRC switched to EvoNET after more than 16 years using a competitor`s software primarily because it believed the Business Micros solution would enable it to personalise the service it offers to its customer and become more able to respond quickly and flexibly to their demands.
Gary Richards, Managing Director of Central CRC, said: "As a medium sized fabricator producing around 400 frames per week, our focus is on giving customers a level of service which they cannot get elsewhere and on dlighting them with the quality of the product we supply and the reliability and efficiency of our deliveries.
"The Evolution software has helped us to make great strides in improving the efficiency and quality of our manufacturing and EvoNET was the next logical step."
From its Midlands base, Central CRC supplies trade customers across the whole of the UK with a complete range of windows, doors and conservatories. It is a true `One Stop Shop` and prides itself on its ability to meet any customer demand.
Gary continues: "We are using EvoNET to complement our customer service processes and to give us access to instant information about our customers and their buying patterns which means we can perform even better.
"For example, we can interrogate the software to analyse the buying patterns of customers in any particular region and then anticipate orders and minimse lead times.
"We also use the Customer Relationship Management module to manage our customer data and records which enables our sales team to deliver an even more personal and tailored customer support service.
Many EvoNET customers choose the Business Micros software because they want to save money on order processing, reduce errors and remakes in their factories using the barcode scanning option or optimise their stock purchasing.
These users often report payback of little more than a year on software purchase and an almost instant return if they choose the monthly rental package because their savings are relatively easy to quantify.
For CRC the benefits are less tangible but perhaps even more valuable. Gary adds: "Using EvoNET we can access information and generate reports about any aspect of our business performance which previously we would have had to compile ourselves from our own data and spreadsheets.
"Instantly, we can see for example, the profit margin on frames produced that week, the value of every customer to our business and can track sales leads patterns by region, product or sales person.
"The impact it has had on our decision making process has been fantastic. It has given the business an important new dimension and has certainly made us able to plan more effectively in both the short and medium term.
"It is making us into a much smarter and more effective organisation and is certainly giving us a competetive edge."
Business Micros supplies its EvoNET software as a modular software package which means customers can choose some or all of the features depending on their budget and the nature and requirements of their business.
Increasingly, Business Micros also offers rental options for customers which means they can acquire the software with no major capital outlay for a fixed monthly cost.
This cost covers installation, commissioning, upgrades and ongoing support so there are no catches of hidden fees.
Graeme Bailey, Managing Director of Business Micros, says: "EvoNET is widely recognised as being the best management software in teh industry and for businesses like Central CRC which aspire to be the very best it gives the the framework and tools they need to acheive that.
"As the downturn has impacted on many companies` ability to invest, we have come up with the innovative rental scheme which means they can acquire the software they need for a relatively small monthly outlay - starting at just £40."