The success of an in-house developed
business intelligence (BI) system has driven Scotland’s leading
diamond drilling company, Clyde Valley Drilling (CVD), to make the
software commercially available.
The company invested a quarter of a million pounds in developing
the iQ solution which it says
enabled it to make savings of £200,000 in just one year. After
completing a number of pilot projects with other companies, and
receiving awards, CVD is now preparing to establish a stand-alone
company called Quarterback Systems to roll-out the product.
iQ is designed to allow companies to take greater control of
their business processes by integrating financial systems, job
allocation, satellite and plant tracking software and a task
management system.
As CVD grew, it said that it was finding it increasingly
difficult to maintain accurate paper-based records on new and
completed jobs, and was losing track of equipment. In addition, the
lack of performance in the task and quote management software it
was using was creaking at the seams and was having an adverse
effect on the company’s performance as a whole, revealed Owen
Barrett, managing director of CVD. iQ is the answer to these
issues.
Owen explained, “iQ is essentially a digital whiteboard that
does away with the need for manual paper-based and dated worksheet
administrative systems which can be time consuming and a real
barrier to the development of a company. Using iQ, we have
restructured the day-to-day running of the company and have been
able to improve performance levels by removing repetitive, mundane
tasks. We have also reduced our overheads and now have greater
control over our assets. It has completely transformed the
performance of the business and we’ve almost recouped our initial
investment in just one year.”
The CVD managing director also said that there were particular
benefits for SMEs from the software. He said, “As an
SME we can’t afford to waste money so to have saved £200,000 in
one year is a huge boost for the company. Also, time freed up by
the system led to a huge increase in our business development,
productivity, sales and profit. “It means that we can invest more
time and resources in staff and business development and offer our
customers a more competitive and efficient service.”