A Brew With….Isy Ferguson, Hardie Polymers

29 Oct 2015

This month we are talking to Isy Ferguson, General Manager of Hardie Polymers. The family run business was established in 1924 and is the UK’s leading supplier of plastic raw materials. Operating on a global scale, customer service is key for the company and it has built up a strong reputation in the manufacturing world for its rapid response times.

Tell me a little bit about Hardie Polymers?

Hardie Polymers is the UK’s leading independent supplier of polymer in granular form to the Injection Moulding sector. Still family owned and now in the third generation, we celebrated 90 years in business last year!

We specialise in helping our customers source the exact product they require and manage their monthly polymer supplies. We offer all major specified engineering polymers to the market and with more than 300 suppliers across Europe, Asia and America, our global network allows us to meet the needs of our customer’s changing requirements.

When did you start working with OpenCRM and what attracted you to the system?

On the surface our business model would appear to be quite simple however when we started researching CRM systems we quickly realised we have very specific requirements. Having reviewed many options and discounting them, we identified OpenCRM as a company who were willing to work with us to adapt a CRM to meet our needs.

Each area of the system needed some customisation and the OpenCRM model enabled us to edit the simple areas ourselves but leave the more technical elements to the team, who understood our needs and came up with solutions to ensure the system met our requirements perfectly.

How has OpenCRM changed your business?

We cannot remember how we operated without it! It has undoubtedly contributed to the significant growth we have enjoyed over the past few years. Although the initial customisation took longer than expected we now have a tailored system that meets our needs exactly.

The team at OpenCRM really understand our business model and have developed a system that copes perfectly with all our quirks and variables and, most importantly, copes with multi-currency in exactly the right way for our business.

We implemented OpenCRM in stages, eventually moving to Purchase and Sales order processing and Sage integration earlier this year. Our initial fears of integrating our accounts package with OpenCRM were quickly dispelled and we could immediately see more benefits to the system. One particular feature being the removal of any margin for error relating to data input, speed of generating order paperwork and processing purchase invoices.

We are still not using Open CRM to its full potential and look forward to taking the time to explore the system further.

Sorry OpenCRM team, there are more questions coming your way! I’m sure you will deal with them in your usual efficient manner.

What would you tell your friends/customers about OpenCRM? Would you recommend them?

I would have no hesitation in recommending OpenCRM. If you need the system customised it is important the team understand your business model from the outset and what you want to achieve.

Their exceptional level of customer service will ensure you receive the perfect solution.