Prism DCS has counted on Sage solutions for 20 years. We’ve been at the team’s side to evolve their ERP system in line with their changing needs.
Prism DCS is the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of server racks and cabinets, providing off-the-shelf and bespoke solutions to offices and data centres since 1996. In 2024, it was acquired by Leviton, a global leader of network solutions.
Sarah Fitzpatrick, the company’s Finance Manager, has been part of the team for 24 years. That’s a little – though not by much – longer than our relationship with Prism DCS.
It was around ten years ago that Prism DCS adopted Sage 200, which is the core enterprise resource planning solution they use today. It was a move that was needed; as Sarah recalls, the business was becoming busier and there were more requirements for how orders were processed.
From then, the business continued to evolve. Project-based work began to make up an increasing proportion of Prism DCS’s work, alongside the traditional distribution to regular customers.
This move towards project-based work has required new ways of working. “You could have an order worth £1.5 million – and you can’t ship it all at the same time,” explains Sarah.
Supplying in this way also brings new considerations, for example in ensuring compliance with the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
Prism DCS needed a single solution to this issue. Some of this was available through Sage 200 itself, some through additional modules developed by Sicon. Through a combination of these, we were able to introduce capabilities for staged invoicing, CIS scheme deductions and reverse charging, and provide training to the team on how to get full value from these new features.
For other requirements, we had to think outside the box. As an example, Prism DCS wanted to replicate some functionality enjoyed by the sales team within the purchasing team. Sales had been able to attach important documentation – the customer order, worksheets from the factory and delivery notes – to records on the system. But this wasn’t possible for purchasing.
“We had a manual filing system and paperwork everywhere,” says Sarah. “This functionality had to be written – it wasn’t a case of you guys just clicking a few buttons. But a solution was found quickly and it works. We can now attach all our purchase invoices, delivery notes from suppliers and more on the system.”
Throughout, Sarah’s been impressed by the support she receives from Thinc. Her experience with Sage solutions is impressive – she’s the go-to person in her business for when people need support – and so it’s rare that she needs our help. But when she does, such as with building new types of reports, she appreciates the step-by-step guidance we provide.
When considering the impacts of our work together, Sarah believes the biggest improvement remains the initial upgrade from Sage 50 to Sage 200. “That’s saved an awful lot of time for everybody, from finance through to sales order processing,” she says.
However, she also mentions the addition of the Credit Hound cash-flow addon, which saved the business time and money when chasing payments. On a personal level, she has benefited from the breadth of standard reports that are available, saving time on rewriting and design.
In the near future, Prism DCS is preparing to upgrade to the latest version of Sage 200 and how it can take steps towards managing its stock through the ERP. As the company enters its next chapter as part of the global Leviton family, we’re looking forward to helping Sarah and the team continue to get full value from their system.
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