A leading West Midlands-based metal supplier has celebrated 25 years in business by investing in new software to bring its management systems into the 21st century.

L A Metals Limited – Smethwick-based aluminium extrusion specialists – has invested in Sage 200, supplied by Birmingham-based leading business solutions provider CPiO.

The company has made a smooth transition to Sage 200 from its previous package – ­Sage Line 100 – as all of the company’s data was transferred across to the new system.

Marie Withers, Company Secretary at L A Metals Limited, said: “It’s been 10 years since we upgraded our software. CPiO has brought the company’s software up to date and we now realise just how many elements of the software we have been missing out on.

“Creating reports is quick and easy and the facility to analyse customers has been very useful. The fact that the software is Windows-based makes the process 100% better – it’s more user-friendly and takes less time to search and enter data. Also, we can now select which reports we want to print and which to save to file, therefore saving paper. In addition, we have the facility to export data to an excel document to work with. The next step is to upload our stock catalogue on to the system.”

Junior Hewitt, CPiO Account Manager, said: “As of September 2012, Sage will no longer provide support or product development for Sage Line 100. Therefore, it was important that L A Metals upgraded to Sage 200 to ensure they didn’t lose customer information. The system was also very old and didn’t have as many functions that Sage 200 provides.”

Marie added: “When we decided it was time to upgrade, Sage introduced us to CPiO. We met with Junior and found him very personable. He understood what our business requirements were and was very efficient when supplying any information we requested. With all the business improvements that Sage 200 has already made, we believe the software will be instrumental in keeping the business going for another 25 years.”

A flexible, integrated solution for growing businesses, Sage 200 brings together financial management, customer relationship management and business intelligence software all in one solution. Businesses can share data easily and tailor the software to its needs.

LA Metals are independent aluminium stockists providing services across the UK. As well as providing a first-class service, LA Metals can provide a stocktaking facility for custom sections to order and for same/following day delivery. The company currently employs 21 people and is in the process of hiring a new sales person to concentrate on winning new business.

CPiO is a privately-owned company based in the West Midlands. The company offers bespoke business solutions, which address a range of business needs. CPiO is one of the top resellers of Sage’s mid-range software in the UK and provides a complete software support package.