Wintle Heating & Plumbing

Purchase Order System - Case Study

Wintle Heating & Plumbing, established in 1966, has grown to be one of the largest combined heating, plumbing, and electrical contractors within the Anglian and East Midlands Area. As a consequence, in growing the business, the company faced challenges in managing a wide range of services and suppliers across multiple locations. Ensuring fiscal controls, standardising purchasing practices, and maintaining efficiency across various departments were becoming increasingly complex.

Tom Wintle, Commercial Manager at Wintle Heating & Plumbing, recognised the need for a more streamlined and efficient purchasing system to replace their existing processes. Their goal was to implement a solution that could provide greater control over approvals and reporting whilst keeping IT overheads low.

Upon researching potential solutions, Tom discovered Cloud B2B's cloud-based Purchase Order software. The comprehensive range of functionalities and the flexibility of the licensing model offered by Cloud B2B immediately stood out. After a series of remote demonstration sessions, Wintle Heating & Plumbing decided to implement the full Purchase Order transactional solution from Cloud B2B.

The implementation process began with a detailed specification session, followed by the development of a tailored test system. This allowed Wintle Heating & Plumbing to thoroughly evaluate the system before full deployment. Key features such as the Budget module, which ensures correct allocation of nominal codes at the budget level, and the ability to associate delivery notes with the corresponding PO's using the Goods Receipting module, were integral to their requirements.

The system went live initially at Wintle Heating & Plumbing’s head office, where it was rigorously tested to ensure it met all operational needs and gained acceptance among users. Following the successful trial at the head office, the system was rolled out with a license pool of 3 concurrent users.

To further address practical needs, additional features were added to the system, including Group Approval, Bulk Receipting lines on a Purchase Order, and the ability to receipt without a formal document. This flexibility ensured that the system could evolve with the company's requirements.

The new system has significantly enhanced visibility into financial performance across all branches. The insistence that suppliers use genuine PO numbers has improved supplier invoice management, saving time and reducing errors. The comprehensive reporting suite has facilitated more accurate forecasting of monthly profitability and better control of expenditures.

Importing supplier agreed price lists and specifications has streamlined the purchase order process by automatically creating a purchase order from an offline template, making it faster and more accurate. The structured format has benefited the procurement of everything from office supplies to essential equipment.

Tom Wintle and his team are pleased with the improved efficiency and control the Cloud B2B system has brought to their operations. The cloud-based solution will support Wintle Heating & Plumbing’s continued growth and commitment to excellence in the heating, plumbing, and electrical contracting industry.

Tom commented:
‘In a fast moving business like ours, Cloud B2B’s system has provided a customised solution that has improved all aspect’s of the purchasing process. I can highly recommend them for their quality of work and understanding our business needs, and continued support’.

Wintle Heating & Plumbing Ltd | Mansion Close | Moulton Park | Northampton | Northamptonshire | NN3 6RU
https://www.wintle.co.uk