“Although the pandemic sadly took its toll on a lot of business, some organisations truly thrived,” believes a pragmatic Tim Smith, Sage Enterprise Management Pre-Sales & Solution Consultant at IntraLogisteX exhibitor CPiO (Sage). “We have seen a huge uplift in the number of companies looking to update and improve their technical infrastructure and business management software,” he notes, referring to the normality that is fast returning to UK shores.

Sage X3 offers full integration with sales, inventory, purchasing, financing, and manufacturing to help businesses improve supply chain efficiency and keep up with customer demand. “As customer demand grows again, we will see people look to improve efficiency and streamline the supply chain process,” continues Smith, who – prior to joining CPiO – held pre-sales positions with two other Sage business partners and started working life as a Sage Support Consultant. These were roles in which a lot of product knowledge was gained as well as an understanding of the common issues that Sage users come up against. “My passion to help people overcome these problems drove me towards consultancy and pre-sales, where I thrive on spotting a business pain and being able to demonstrate how Sage Software can solve the issue.”

His role and responsibilities today include business requirements analysis, product presentations and demonstrations to prospects, clients and business partners and preparing sales quotations. “I also pro-actively engage with various departments such as marketing, support and the software development consultants,” he adds. “I am accredited in Sage 200, Sage X3 and most recently Sage’s cloud financial management solution, Sage Intacct.

CPiO was just recently selected as a UK Sage Intacct Partner. “We are excited to add Intacct to our repertoire of software solutions and I am relishing the opportunity to work with another new Sage product, as I did with Sage X3 a few years back,” Smith reveals. “Sage Intacct is an incredibly powerful native-cloud financial management solution that is proving very popular in the UK. And in Sage X3 – which serves a more complex requirement for those organisations in the distribution, logistics and manufacturing space – we are working on some exciting projects for customers.”

Smith clearly loves his role and working for a successful, established Sage Partner with more than 30 years of experience, and goes on to highlight some vital factors that set the company apart in the sector. “The ethical and honest way CPiO does business is reflected in our excellent retention of both employees and customers, some of whom have worked with CPiO since its inception, and many others for +20 years,” he reveals. “There is a plethora of software solutions in the UK to choose from. Sage, as a long-established British brand on the FTSE100, provides best-in-class business solutions to some very established logistics organisations. We believe we have great solutions and industry experts with the skills and experience to deliver great results.”

We’re looking forward to meeting Tim at IntraLogisteX in early July, partly to also quiz him about his ancestry. “I’m related to an actor who featured in many of the Carry On films,” he laughs. “And his wife – who was also a successful comedian – played Margaret Thatcher in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.” Given that he also received the ‘Best Recruit Award’ in the Royal Artillery at the aged of 21, he is also a man you can rely on, working for a company you can count on.

So, what is he looking forward to most about this year’s IntraLogisteX showcase? “Real-life, 3D people,” he says with a smile. “I’d almost forgotten they exist! I’m hoping to speak to people who have weathered the storm of the past 12-18 months and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is great to see confidence building in organisations now and I think there will be a real interest in growth after what has been a difficult period for every business.”

Meet Tim and his CPiO colleagues on the Sage stand (310) at IntraLogisteX on 1st & 2nd July at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry