Simpler processes at the Co-Op

Trace Solutions’ new user interface has faced one of its stiffest tests within the property management department of the Co-operative Group‘s head office in Manchester. 

Financial Controller Rob Moore was one of the earliest clients to see the new interface, and it chimed precisely with his own objectives. “It came along at just the right time. We wanted to simplify all our processes and the software was doing very much the same thing.”

^{The Co-op’s Financial Controller, Rob Moore}

Recently they decided to consolidate all of their property management using Trace software, as part of a planned reduction in paperwork and bureaucracy. “We’re moving to new offices in 2012 and we didn’t want to take any more paper with us than was necessary”.

Even more importantly, he wanted the power of his property database to be available to a far wider range of users. “A lot of information held by our surveyors was in all sorts of formats – paper, spreadsheets and the like – and was mostly inaccessible. So we scanned it and put it all into the property database. Now everyone can access it and make use of it at the click of a console button.”

“We’re also starting to see how we can use it strategically as a building block for the future.”

Following a decade of acquisitions the famous Manchester-based Group now runs one of the UK’s largest property portfolios through its subsidiary Co-operative Estates. Rob Moore and his team manage everything from retail properties to funeral parlours, as well as a significant investment portfolio.