Issue 2007 > Industry Expert
Industry Expert: One-on-One with Martin Cole
Systems Consultant & Trainer for Crown Asia Pacific
Martin Cole
Email: mcole@crownrelo.com
Martin Cole has been working in the records management industry for 12 years, including four years at O’Neil Software. Martin holds a Bachelor of International Business Relations Degree, Grad. Dip. Export Management. He was born in Australia and currently lives in Hong Kong, based out of Crown Worldwide’s Group Headquarters.
What was your role at O’Neil Software?
My role entailed training users on the O’Neil products. For larger companies, we developed courses and conducted training that focused on very specific job roles. For smaller companies and start-ups, I conducted full systems training. I was also responsible for managing systems and developing database conversions to comply with O’Neil’s RS-SQL® software.
What is your role at Crown?
I joined Crown in 2002. In my current role, I provide technical support and training for the records management teams across the Asia-Pacific region. The training is carried out both by in-person classroom style seminars, as well as internet-based courses and real-time “instant message” chats. I bridge communications between end users and Crown’s inhouse IT department to enhance workflow and standardize procedures. We regularly gauge feedback and upgrade systems to continually enhance system accuracy.
Overall, I support the Management Centers to help customize software and train the teams to ensure that our inhouse IT systems are being maximized and used to their full capacity. This helps to provide our clients with customized records management systems.
Are there any major career accomplishments you’d like to highlight?
A major project I managed was the relocation of two warehouses consisting of 60,000 and 20,000 cartons to a new facility. In addition to the physical relocation, the technology systems had to be converted simultaneously. We had to deliver 100% accuracy of both the system conversion and the placement of cartons, while ensuring daily business continued without interruption.
At O’Neil, I aided in the implementation of a new system that managed 10 million tracked files. I also assisted in the rollout of RS-SQL for a multinational records management company, providing training to the “trainers” and consultancy to both the IT and Operations teams. Most recently, I have been leading Crown’s global roll out of RMi (Records Management invoicing). RMi is a customer invoicing software tool that provides clients with instant online access to new invoices, invoice history and payment status.
We expect to complete the roll out by the end of the year. In the meantime, will continue to roll out additional products including CrownInteract, a web-based portal that provides clients with the ability to retrieve, track, monitor and run comprehensive reports.
O’Neil Software®
For over 25 years, O’Neil Software® has been providing software and hardware solutions for over 850 record centers in more than 60 countries, ranging from start-ups to multi-nationals. The company’s record management software solutions manage and track multiple types of data including traditional storage boxes, file folders, documents and tapes. The company’s flagship product is RS-SQL®, which is integrated into Crown’s global technology systems.