Website helps university to share services with business

The university’s centre of excellence for delivering scientific services has launched an innovative e-commerce website built by Black Pepper Software Ltd.

The website allows businesses anywhere in the country to browse and then book analysis to be completed using the university’s analytical equipment.

This allows the university to share its services with businesses around the country, and because the work is scheduled into time when the analytical equipment is not being used by the university, it creates a whole new revenue stream.

Warwick Scientific Services (WSS), the university’s centre of excellence, approached Black Pepper who then worked closely with the university’s in-house IT department to produce a web based ecommerce solution that would integrate with the university’s existing email and invoicing system.

The system allows WSS to utilise dormant equipment, create a brand new revenue stream and to standardise their workflow and customer charging, as this is all managed by the new system.

Dr Mark Barnett, head of Scientific Services, said: “Black Pepper Software are a welcoming and friendly company who listened to our problems rather than leaping to a previously developed solution. They were good at communicating on progress, kept an open two-way dialogue with us and quickly adapted to our new and changing user requirements.’’

Black Pepper MD John Cooke said: “This is a great initiative that has generated true business value for the university. We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with the university on this and look forward to working on more new and exciting projects in the year ahead.”

Pictured: Professor Chris McConville undertaking Transmission Electron Microscopy, a service that can be ordered online using the new system