Nixon Hire is a family-run business, employing over 250 people throughout northern England and Scotland. The newest Nixon Hire depot is about to open, in Inverness, bringing the total number of depots to seventeen. There is also a branch in Qatar. The company offers a wide range of hire solutions, as well as plant sales and repairs and liquid waste removal.
The Challenge
Nixon Hire’s original, UNIX-based system did not provide the necessary flexibility for a growing company. David Balmer, IT Manager, explains, “Our previous system was quite restrictive, so we set out to find a replacement which was Microsoft Windows based, with a look and feel that would make it easy to adopt and use. Having carefully considered our options, we chose MCS-rm.”
The Solution
MCS-rm is used by around 70 staff, including hire controllers, accounts, the workshop and sales people. Core functions within the system, such as contract management, invoicing and purchase ordering, have helped Nixon Hire to deliver excellent service at a profit.
David comments, “Right from the word go, MCS-rm has increased our efficiency and agility. It’s an indispensable component of the Nixon Hire business and we couldn’t do everything we do without it.”
The Benefits
One of the many ways in which MCS-rm contributes is in efficiently producing safety certifications to meet legal requirements and Nixon’s own stringent safety standards. David notes, “MCS-rm looks after it all: certificates can be generated and attached as part of the despatch note for the customer.”
David values the system’s report- generating capabilities, saying, “As with any IT system, what’s important is what you can get out of it. With MCS-rm, we can extract information easily and in our preferred formats. It’s impressively accurate.”
MCS-rm supports the unceasing drive to improve efficiency and service. Citing the example of electronic invoicing, David says, “It’s the way forward and more and more of our customers are requesting this method of transmission. Electronic invoicing has benefits for both sides: it is more efficient for us in reducing costs and time and ensuring the safe arrival of our invoices, while customers receive invoices which are easily accessible, in the ‘paperless’ format they prefer.”
David outlines the way in which another development – implementing the CRM component of MCS-rm – has benefited the business as a whole: “CRM has replaced the manual systems and pieces of paper on which our sales people used to record sales calls and information. The great advantage is that once data has been entered, sales, accounts and credit control all share an up-to-date, complete view of the customer.”
He adds, “The system supports us in moving a prospect along the sales cycle. It is all working really well and we also plan to use CRM to create proposals.”
Nixon Hire’s application of advanced technology now includes using the MCS-rm Smart Alerts. David says, “These proactive business alerts are a very useful tool to help us ‘work smarter’. At the moment, we are using them to flag up any exceptions. For instance, if our hire controllers enter an incorrect price, this will be spotted instantly, rather than only coming to light in a report at a later date.”
David emphasises, “The great thing is that MCS-rm covers every part of our business, including direct hires in all our diverse hire sectors and rehires in conjunction with our network of partners and subcontractors. The system has supported us in providing a one-stop shop for all our customers’ needs, at the same time as helping us to provide rapid, efficient service.”
The Future
Over the years, MCS-rm has grown with the business. David says, “One of the many good things about MCS-rm is that you can extend its functionality over time by adding modules as and when you need them.”
With a pioneering approach to technology, the company is now investigating running CRM on a mobile platform. David points out, “Giving the sales force mobile access to data on their smart phones should work very well in quickly providing all the data they need on the move. In today’s pressured environment, this is the kind of capability that helps us to provide a rapid response to our customers.”
Furthermore, Nixon Hire is currently reviewing multi-currency and multi-country capabilities to support its Middle East business, and FIFO (first in first out) processing to track non-itemised stock to manage stock valuations.
In closely watching their overheads, customers, too, require more business information, for example daily reports of the equipment they have on hire and what it is costing them. The MCS Customer Web Portal is currently being tailored to meet exact requirements in this area.
David notes, “We want to offer customers choice, and the online portal will allow customers to ‘self-serve’ in a secure environment which frees resources for enquiries that need a personalised response.”
All these developments will help Nixon Hire to retain its competitive edge and profitably meet the changing requirements of the marketplace.
To find out how MCS-rm could help your business, call us on +44 (0)1628 828000 or use our enquiry form.
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