CPiO, business software specialist and strategic Partner of Sage (UK) Limited, has announced the first deployment of a prototype of Sage's new single ERP and CRM business management software solution, Sage 1000

CPiO has implemented the Sage 1000 early release version, in which the systems integrator also played a key development role, at Scientific and Chemical Supplies Ltd, a laboratory equipment, chemicals and science equipment company in the West Midlands.

Sage 1000 is born on the back of Sage's flagship Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution Line 500 and its latest Customer Relationship Management software, Sage CRM MME. The new single business solution will offer organisations such as Scientific and Chemical Supplies the benefits of a true enterprise-wide solution including reduced cost of ownership, greater ease of deployment and greater operational efficiency across the entire organisation.

The potential for this new offering was first identified by CPiO in October 2005. CPiO then approached Sage with the potential solution to develop a re-engineered product from the two previously disparate products. 

Andrew Watkinson, Sales and Marketing Director at CPiO, says: "As a systems integrator, CPiO has been working with ERP and CRM software for nearly 15 years. Over the last five years in particular, our clients have been looking for ways of getting more out of their existing IT investments - looking to us to help them identify ways of getting greater operational efficiency, more cost savings and critically, ways of integrating the entire business for competitive advantage."

He continues, "As a strategic Partner of Sage, when we first came across Sage MME, we recognised immediately the potential that the software offered to achieve just the type of integration and benefits our clients were asking us for."

Within a six month window since CPiO first took its suggested engineering approach to Sage. Sage's product development team - supported on a consultancy basis by CPiO - has achieved full integration of Sage MME and Sage Line 500 to launch the new Sage 1000 solution.

David Pinches, Director of Accounts & ERP for Sage (UK) Limited, explains: "Sage had been looking for some time for a means of developing a business management tool that would enable us to help our customers address some of their current business challenges - such as a requirement for accurate data collection, the ability to report to all stakeholders and a means of managing business process outsourcing, the rise of virtual departments, all whilst gaining a tighter control on costs. When CPiO came to us with their suggested approach for basing a new solution on the combined power of Line 500 and MME, we recognised that this presented a very real solution to the issues in the marketplace." 

He continues, "One of the benefits of working with channel partners such as CPiO is the access to knowledge, insight and expertise. CPiO's focus on the day-to-day needs of our joint customers is ultimately what bore the idea of Sage 1000."

Commenting on the deployment of Sage 1000, Philip Palser, Operations Director at Scientific & Chemicals Supplies, concludes: "Although a prototype Sage 1000 is a product based on proven and highly intuitive technology which for us was a key requirement to ensure as smooth and interruption free an upgrade as possible with minimal downtime. We have complete confidence that the software will provide both individual departmental functions and the business as a whole access to previously unavailable critical data while reducing our total cost of ownership."