Indepth: Software Case Study – Peel Group

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Many companies use standard, off-the-shelf software packages. These are fine to an extent but don't always do exactly what you need them to do. One company that knows this is Peel Group, a large and diverse company with subsidiaries ranging from The Manchester Ship Canal Company to others owning regional airports and the Trafford Centre retail park.

P&L originally developed a stock control system at Runcorn Docks on the Manchester Ship Canal which has been operating successfully for over 17 years now. They subsequently developed a system for licensing vessels on the Bridgewater Canal which also operates faultlessly.

As Peel Group see the value of developing bespoke software for specific solutions, they have asked for a number of other software developments including a recent internet-based system for securely viewing key corporate documents.

The most recent project is for Peel Group Legal Department. This system will improve and streamline the management of documents associated with specific cases, including facilities for scanning documents and saving e-mails to case-based files. It will also enable the time spent on each case to be more accurately recorded, allowing costs to be more appropriately split between the different divisions of Peel Holdings.

Alan Walters, the IT Manager of Peel Group, is confident that this system will make a valuable contribution to the efficient management of the Legal Department. He selected P&L Software Solutions for this work due to the track record of delivering effective systems, highly tailored to business needs. He says; "P&L listen to our needs and work well with our staff to ensure a solution which works for us. We have confidence in their ability and see them delivering effective, innovative solutions."

Bespoke software obviously benefits those companies for whom off-the-shelf software doesn't quite do what they need. However, many companies don't realise just how much more successful and efficient they could be if they developed an IT-system to help them run their business. Have you thought about it?

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