Upgrade Bikes invests in future proofing IT systems with Pinnacle

Upgrade Bikes has made a future proofing investment in its IT systems and logistics having implemented the Sage 200Cloud system, as supported by Pinnacle.

Upgrade Bikes’ Warehouse Systems Manager Chase Sullivan said of the investment: “With 90% of our business running on Sage, it has to work. This makes the choice of a Sage support partner a big thing – a decision that impacts the business. We need a partner who can take complexity and stress out of working our lives, while helping to future-proof our IT systems. Fortunately, Pinnacle provides great service, with very fast response times.”

With greater levels of stock arriving, including a newly added catalogue from bicycle helmet label Nutcase, the investment is timely.

The move to Pinnacle to develop and support the Sage 200cloud system took place two years ago, sparked by a meeting with Pinnacle Managing Director James Spencer, who is a keen cyclist, at the Sage Summit in London.

Chase recalls: “We were impressed by just how quickly James grasped what we were trying to do. Indeed, our experience ever since has been that Pinnacle people take time to listen and understand how we do things and how we want to do things.”

Upgrade Bikes has over 5,000 active lines and one area of the business that has benefited greatly from the Pinnacle touch is stock. Pinnacle has integrated its own Connect solution into the Sage software to simplify and automate updates for stock and search categories. Meanwhile, accurate reporting on Sage has supported the company’s Purchasing Manager in significantly reducing stockholding and freeing up working capital.

Chase highlights the value of Pinnacle’s input to the company’s IT systems strategy: “The Pinnacle team open our eyes to new possibilities and are always pro-active in suggesting innovative ways the system can support our business. They help us to improve our efficiency and capitalise on our investment in Sage, as well as being on hand to resolve day-to-day technical issues. They come to us with solutions, not problems.”

Pinnacle is now upgrading Sage 200cloud to the latest version. Whereas in the past, this task would have seemed impossibly complicated, today Chase observes, “The ease with which Pinnacle handles the upgrade process, minimising disruption to the business, encourages us to keep up to date and take advantage of new features.”

Upgrade Bikes plans to expand without increasing its overheads by eliminating manual operations and streamlining its processes. Pinnacle Managing Director James Spencer comments: “We are proud to support Upgrade Bikes in its mission of ‘Best Product, Best Service, Best Stock’. With Sage200 Cloud and integrated third-party solutions for warehouse management and electronic document management reliably generating accurate management information, Upgrade Bikes is equipped to provide excellent service to its customers.”

With Pinnacle’s help, Upgrade is currently exploring ways to improve its warranty and repair services, by tracking each element of the customer’s order from receipt through the workshop and dispatch.