November 2023 Update
Nov 30, 2023
The journey to finding the ultimate project management software has taken a while…
With my quest for perfection (if that is even possible) I have been searching for some type of project management software that could cover various processes – from controlling stock, labour, costs, ordering, invoicing to tool allocation. Essentially the day to day running of the whole business in one place was the goal.
After trialling and using countless software systems we have always concluded that none have ever been sufficient to do the job we need them to do. We needed software that had the capacity, range, and freedom to implement processes yet still simplistic and straightforward to use.
Before embarking on SimPRO I was quite reluctant to try any new software, as I was cautious that I didn’t want to go through the whole process to invest time, money, and implement a new software to the business for it to simply fail again.
On top of this I needed to ensure the whole team would be on board to want to give another software a go, and trust in them to want to make it work, as of course for any software to work correctly the correct input needs to be imported into system.
If I’m being honest, I am always a bit nervous introducing these new ideas as my team must think "oh my god, what now".
But I knew there had to be a software out there that would make the business as streamlined and efficient as possible.
SimPRO had caught my eye for a while, and after seeing countless ads and other companies within the industry diving into the software I decided it was time to take the plunge. After a lot of research, I felt like SimPRO was the stability through the growth phase of the business that we needed.
If anyone knows me, they will know if I have decided on something I will be determined to back it all the way. The teams’ opinions matter too, as they are the ones using the software and without them it would of course fail. Therefore, it is essential for me to be committed and have full belief that we can make it work so that the team can be convinced too.
So of course, the first hurdle was to tell the team and get them on board, and in all honesty, they were all up for the challenge. We agreed that we all had the same struggles and believed that SimPRO could be the answer. (I don’t know what I was worried about, after all!)
I will be transparent with you – setting up SimPRO correctly is a HUGE task.
As a team we undertook the implementation stages together and started building the system.
But we worked hard together completing it in just over 3 months. I was told that this was a great achievement, and faster than expected – however where we were all so keen to use it, we had to keep our heads down and it was personally all I focussed on.
The minute we went LIVE the pain and hard work was totally worth it. We could see where stock was, where the engineers was working, how the jobs was going all in one program. I think the key highlight for me was that we were all using it together. It made the team stronger, more productive, and unified.
Since using it for over a year it has transformed the way the business runs. It has been remarkable seeing what it can do and to have total control of the company and projects we are working on.
We have now also implemented the engineers with the mobile app which so far has been a game changer. This now allows the engineers on site to work with the in-house team, they are more involved, and they loved the idea of being a part of the system. For me this is a big tick, if everyone is on board and likes it, the outcome of using it will only improve over time and will become a stronger structure in the future.
Without simPRO we would not have been able to grow our business and look forward to the future.
I would like to say a big thanks to Ricardo for introducing SimPRO to us and steering us on the right path, Martyn Rozier for making the implementation as seamless as possible and to top it off James Cannon for always being there with the consistent support and dedication, continually making us aware of what it can do and how we can make it benefit Prowired.
For the main thank you. To my team…. without the support of you all it wouldn’t have been possible. Your constant efforts are always recognised, and I hope you feel part of the team which has the best yet to come!
-Danny Edmonds
