Hilco is the largest spectacle frame repairers in the UK, operating under a dual branding of Hilco and National Frame Repairers. The companies are a part of The Hilsinger Corporation, the leading designer and provider of consumer optical accessories, professional optical tools and related products in the USA and the UK.  Hilsinger, with a group turnover of $65m, sells to a large customer base that includes opticians, optometrists, retail optical chains, sporting goods retailers and independent distributors throughout North America and Europe.

The Hilco Europe repair centre situated in Heywood, Lancashire had historically used a bespoke solution for processing and controlling the repair orders but this system was designed and implemented when Hilco was processing 500 orders per week. Demand has now grown to over 3000 orders per week – 600 per day - with exciting plans for even further expansion.  As is the case with many bespoke systems it lacked the flexibility and capability to meet the needs and expectations of a growing business.

The old system produced invoices for all completed jobs but these had to be manually keyed into a different accounting system used by the Hilco base in Hawes, Yorkshire and the USA.  Any new solution had to interface to this accounting system and eliminate the re-entry of data and the duplication of information.

With the fast expansion of the business Nigel Davies, General Manager of Hilco Europe sought to find an alternative solution.  The repair centre was processing over 150,000 orders each week with 10% of this business from private individuals with no accounts who needed a quotation prior to any work commencing.  The balance of the other orders came from trade accounts like Specsavers Opticians where the repairs begin upon receipt of the spectacles.  All of the accounts needed to be consolidated at the end of each month for ease of billing to each specific branch of Specsavers Opticians. What Hilco required was a system that would enable them to track the repairs and ensure they provided a fast, quality and complete service for all of their customers.

Having evaluated a number of options Nigel Davies concluded, "We are delighted to have contracted with In2grate Business Solutions for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution. Our business is benefiting from increased sales, and of course that success places greater demands. We needed to migrate from our existing bespoke system onto a solution that has the longevity that Microsoft provides and will support our needs into the future. The new solution provides ease of use and gives us the essential rapid order entry we need to cope with the ever increasing volume of business.”

Microsoft Dynamics NAV has allowed extensive customisations from within an integrated development environment and this has enabled Hilco to make immediate changes to respond more efficiently to new business opportunities without disrupting everyday operations.

The solution provided by In2grate Business Solutions utilises a specially developed Service Management module as an integrated part of Microsoft Dynamics NAV to complement the existing ERP solution and to provide a comprehensive answer to the needs of Hilco Europe.