The First Mile provides a collection and recycling service to businesses, primarily in London. LBT are our IT partners who designed and developed our system. We wanted a system which provided the maximum flexibility possible, so that we could grow from an initial start-up, but scale up and scale out as we grew.

Our "ENQIX" application is browser-based and manages thousands of client collection points through the website, which is also hosted and managed by LBT. Our drivers use a bespoke mobile application to control delivery and collection routes and automatically update the ENQIX database. So the system is "real time" and runs "24x7".

With minimum human intervention charges are raised automatically, invoices sent out electronically, and automated direct debit collections are made for a large proportion of our income.

Clients are able to "help themselves" to key documents, and copies of documents, through the web "Client Portal" at any time of day or night with secure log-ins to their own data.

Could we have grown to where we are in the time we have without such a system?

No way!

"We looked at many of the applications available on the market that achieved part of what our business needed, but Associate offered us the ability to manage all of our business needs in one package.

Over the years, as our business has grown and business needs have changed, so have our demands of Associate. But thanks to the ability to bespoke parts of the system, or have entirely new parts added. Associate has grown with us and into an invaluable part of our day-to-day business."

Before implementing LBT’s “Associate” CRM application, Kingfisher Environmental Services Ltd was a successful small business that was starting to have difficulty maintaining its early growth. Our administrative staff were struggling to maintain control of the scheduling of visits of our engineers to inspect, sample, and test commercial water systems including swimming pools, spas, cooling towers etc. The more so, because of the burden of arranging the scientific tests and certifying the results to our clients. Getting new business wasn’t a problem, but handling it was.

Twelve years on, we have more clients, more engineers, and more tests. However, we also have less central administrative staff and a better service to our customers. We are now the UK's leading testers of swimming pools testing over 1,000 pools and spas per month with offices in Hertfordshire, Swindon, Birkenhead, Scotland, Ireland and Devon all linked via the 'Associate' application.

Without LBT’s Associate we wouldn't be where we are today!”