CRM, ERP and business operating systems

Many growing businesses find their client data trapped across separate spreadsheets, disconnected tools, and email threads. This friction slows response times and forces team members to rely on guesswork instead of reliable commercial records. As CRM consultants, we look closely at how your business actually communicates, sells, and retains accounts before configuring your software.

We build operating environments where sales and customer service staff have clear visibility of customer interactions. For example, for a national trade supplier managing 41,000+ trade accounts across siloed systems, we unified four data sources into one commercial cockpit. That solution established a 0 to 100 score that tiers every account automatically, surfaces look-alike prospects, and provides AI call briefs with one-click dialling to support a £20M revenue target.

• Unifying isolated customer databases, spreadsheets, and commercial tools into a single source of truth.
• Designing intuitive workflows that free your sales and customer service teams from duplicate data entry.
• Embedding automated scoring and practical AI features directly into everyday account workflows.

When everyday operational workflows expand beyond spreadsheets, teams need a connected core operating system. Our consultancy designs tailored operational platforms that coordinate back-office work, resource allocation, and project handovers without forcing rigid, unnatural processes on your staff.

We connect the practical tools your business relies on every day. For a renewable energy group operating across multiple businesses, we brought HR onboarding, training, probation tracking, procurement, fleet, and finance into one shared hub connecting tools like HubSpot and Xero. Similarly, for an office furniture recycler, we delivered an operations system syncing product configuration, WooCommerce, enquiries, proposals, vehicle load planning, and a daily crew board into one clear process.

• Connecting finance, operations, stock, and personnel into clear, shared workspaces.
• Removing paper, email, and manual spreadsheets from core project delivery and fulfilment.
• Ensuring leadership can review operational metrics without running manual exports across multiple systems.

Up-Stride is a Birmingham-based consultancy led by founder Mark Blake, who brings 25 years of experience building, scaling, and advising businesses at C-suite and MD level. We approach technical infrastructure from a strategic commercial perspective, ensuring software investments generate meaningful gains in operational capacity.

We start by auditing your current operational tools, finding where data stalls and identifying where routine admin drains productive hours. From there, we design and build a robust operating system, connect your essential tools, and support your team throughout the transition so everyday work continues without interruption.

• Initial discovery to review current databases, spreadsheets, operational bottlenecks, and goals.
• System architecture, workflow design, and data unification planned specifically for your team.
• Step-by-step rollout and integration alongside ongoing support from an experienced leadership team.