15th September 2020

The choice is clear

Sage 200 is the perfect fit for growing company

We spoke to Vanessa Eastwick-Field, CEO for PhosphonicS about their recent purchase and set-up of Sage 200 with Datel.

PhosphonicS is a privately owned company offering purification products to remove or recover traces of metals in product, process and waste streams.

PhosphonicS was previously part of the much larger Carbosynth Holdings Ltd, of which Vanessa was the CEO. Last year she sold Carbosynth and carved out PhosphonicS as a separate entity, becoming CEO.

• Working to a tight schedule

Prior to the sale of Carbosynth, PhosphonicS and other subsidiaries within the holding company were going through the process of implementing SAP as their ERP system. However, now they were independent and with just seven employees, SAP didn’t make financial sense. Instead, PhosphonicS decided to find a system more suitable for their size, and as a relatively uncomplicated business with a limited number of transactions, their search was quite straightforward.

The smaller, more basic systems on the market did not offer batch traceability or auditability - key requirements for a business in the chemical industry. And since SAP was going to be implemented by the parent company imminently, time was of the essence. With little hesitation they chose Sage 200.

“We had a demo with Sage and they recommended Datel as having various sites around the country including something within our region. That effectively was it!”

• Working with Datel at every stage

There was a short window of time from signing the deal to the planned date of system go live, so PhosphonicS and Datel focused on the most urgent aspects first. To support the project, a Finance Manager was hired to oversee the implementation, and to train the team alongside Datel.

In previous times, PhosphonicS would have hosted the system internally but with the time constraints and the fact that their existing infrastructure was moving overseas, Vanessa also chose to have hosting provided by Datel Advansys, Datel’s sister company.

• A system that grows with you

So far, the priority has been to get Sage 200 live, however they hope to soon take advantage of the many features the new system provides, including reporting, stock management, and the fixed asset register.

There are also modules which will become more relevant as PhosphonicS expands, with the ultimate objective being to build the business for future sale. A robust system is therefore needed that can scale in-line with their growth, and Vanessa is confident that Sage 200 is fit for the job.

“It’s a well recognised system and while it may be overly powerful for the business right now, it will become integral in five years time.”