Joe Barnes, our Sales Exectutive, was recently interviewed by Scrap-ex for their ‘My Business’ feature. As the interview captures nicely everything we do and are about, we thought it would be a useful article for anyone new to P&L to read, so here it is…
Scrap-ex: Describe your business to me
Joe: P&L are market leaders in the development of software systems for the waste management industry. We only create systems for this sector, we don’t ‘adapt’ software to suit. They are written from the ground up, by a team of experts who know more about waste management than is healthy for a bunch of techies!
Scrap-ex: Tell me about your product range
Joe: IWS6 is our showcase product. It is the cream of waste management systems and is fully loaded with modules to cope with just about anything a waste management company can throw at it. Scheduling, weighbridges, hazardous waste, invoicing, reporting – it handles everything!
IWS-mobile takes IWS out on the road. It plans the route (avoiding any low bridges or course!), captures signatures and data, tracks each vehicle in real time – the list goes on but I’ll stop there.
Skip2+ includes many of the powerful features found in IWS6 but is more affordable for small businesses. It can easily be upgraded to IWS6 when the customer is ready.
Scrap-ex: What is your most successful product?
Joe: We have done thousands of installs for IWS, so it has to be that. At the moment we are also getting a lot of feedback from customers raving about the way IWS-mobile has transformed their operations. I think it’s because of the desire to cut costs – we run through a calculation with them and, in almost all cases, IWS-mobile pays for itself within six months and then goes on to save the business thousands.
Scrap-ex: How long has your company been in business?
Joe: It’s a big year for P&L as we turn 25. Our celebrations are being overshadowed a bit by another big anniversary, but watch out for us at RWM where we will be having a bit of a bash to celebrate.
Scrap-ex: Where are you based and what area do you serve?
Joe: Our head office is near Oxford but we have a global customer base from Aberdeen to Australia!
Scrap-ex: Who are your typical customers?
Joe: There is nothing typical about our customers. We work with big multinationals where our systems handle absurd amounts of waste each day, through to small, local companies looking to streamline their operations and cut costs. We even count one of the big oil companies as a customer; they use IWS6 to manage their waste by-products.
Scrap-ex: What would you say is the best thing about your business?
Joe: Without a doubt, it’s the way we go the extra mile for our customers (I was trying not to use any clichés, but it’s true!). For example, we offer 24hr technical support because if something is not working at the start of a 5am shift you need it fixing then, not in four hours time. But we often get calls from distressed customers at ungodly hours with problems that turnout to be nothing to do with our software. Their IT department are still in the land of nod, so we will do everything we can to sort it out for them. Some would say “it’s not our problem” but if we can help we always will.