Phoenix Futures, a leading UK charity and housing association, is saving money and working more efficiently by outsourcing its Unit4 ERP system support (formerly Business World and Agresso) to specialist consultancy G7 Business Solutions.

Phoenix has been helping people overcome drug and alcohol problems for more than 50 years and provides a range of residential, prison, community and specialist services.

In 2017, the not-for-profit organisation identified that outsourcing its Unit4 ERP support would deliver cost savings, quicker response times and a more efficient system.  It appointed G7 based on its consultants’ breadth of knowledge across all elements of Unit4 software.

“Their expertise gave me the confidence that they were the right partners for us,” said André Betha, Phoenix Futures’ Assistant Director of Finance.  “G7 gives us a reliable resource to maintain and develop a more robust system that’s tailored to our organisation’s needs.”

G7 provides ongoing support through its application managed service (AMS) and consultancy on a range of projects.  This has included an upgrade to Milestone 7 and a subsequent update release, including reviewing all the new functionality.

When issues arise with the system, Phoenix Futures logs almost every ticket with G7, relying on them to service all their application management needs.  “They respond very quickly and they’re flexible.  It would cost a huge amount more to have their skill levels in-house,” reflected Betha.

As part of its consultancy role, G7 has covered a range of projects for Phoenix including mobile expenses, critical reports, budgeting, security, staffing structures and vacancies.

Functionality that G7 has introduced and enhanced includes forms, workflow and reporting, absence, HR knowledge transfer and HR dashboard, through to structures and mobile apps for expense approvals and task manager.

The breadth of G7’s Unit4 expertise has allowed Phoenix to expand its capabilities, extending to areas beyond its ERP system.  Betha noted: “G7 knows our business and can design the right solutions for us across the systems environment.  It’s definitely yielded benefits.”

Betha believes that this success is partly because G7 ensures the right member of its consulting team is on board for each individual project.  “They’re all seasoned experts in their own field,” he explained.  “I’ve worked with other providers and found they’ve lacked the same amount of experience as G7.”

As a charity dedicated to helping people overcome substance misuse, Phoenix Futures says it constantly strives to learn and innovate and to work together with others who can bring valuable expertise.  As part of that it places great importance on providing value for money through economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Betha says G7’s role in developing its Unit4 system has been very much at the forefront of helping the charity to deliver on its core values and priorities.  “G7 has been a massive enabler in getting Phoenix to where we want to be,” he said.  “Whatever we’re thinking in terms of development, they’re the right partner to help meet our needs and vision.  As a Unit4 user, I can say they’re absolutely vital to us.”

“Their expertise gave me the confidence that they were the right partners for us."

“G7 gives us a reliable resource to maintain and develop a more robust system that’s tailored to our organisation’s needs.”

“They respond very quickly and they’re flexible.  It would cost a huge amount more to have their skill levels in-house.”

“G7 knows our business and can design the right solutions for us across the systems environment.  It’s definitely yielded benefits.”

“They’re all seasoned experts in their own field. I’ve worked with other providers and found they’ve lacked the same amount of experience as G7.”

“G7 has been a massive enabler in getting Phoenix to where we want to be. Whatever we’re thinking in terms of development, they’re the right partner to help meet our needs and vision.  As a Unit4 user, I can say they’re absolutely vital to us.”