“18 years later K8 is in widespread use at trade counters, and I still see it offering new and enhanced features that will help both our companies continue to grow”

- Matthew Johnson, Managing Director, Tileflair

Tileflair has grown from a single branch business, established in 1972 and trading from a high street location, to the largest, privately owned wall and floor tile distributor in the South of England. The company operates a flagship store in Bristol plus nine other showrooms and two warehouses across south of England.

Tileflair’s managing director is Matthew Johnson. He said, “Our focus is on service which is reflected in our slogan, ‘Create something beautiful’. We make sure we provide a welcoming environment in all our stores so customers are inspired by our room settings and looked after by our staff who are helpful, knowledgeable and, most importantly, genuinely interested in what the customer wants.”

Matthew said that it’s often his trade customers, the fixers, who send in their clients to choose their tiles. He continued, “We also have to provide our trade customers with a service they can rely on. They need to trust us to

get the right tiles to the right place at the right time. And this is where K8 software is really important. It enablesus to provide that service.”

K8 was installed at Tileflair in 1998. Today there are 50 users and the system processes more than 300,000 transactions each year and holds nearly 13,000 product files. The initial need was for a system that could handle inter-branch trading and they could add branches to as the company grew. “Another reason we chose K8,” explained Matthew, “was because whatever you are doing on the system, you are always ready for a sale. You can keep the sales screen open and just flip back to it. Complete visibility of stock and the abilty to search for products and add them to an order so quickly and easily were other key benefits. It’s also very easy and intuitive to use.”

Benefits

Helps Tileflair provide a service that trade customers can rely on
Handles inter-branch trading with the ability to add new branches as the company grows
Lets the sales team access K8 on their iPads with customers in the showroom
Helps the warehouse team plan the most efficient pick routes and measure productivity

Ceramic Tile Warehouse

Beccles Tile Centre

Fired Earth

“Due to all our testing, the great team I had at Tilespace as well as KCS, we had a very smooth Go-Live with almost zero issues.”

Bronwen Fritz, Financial Manager, Financial Manager

Tilespace has been a customer of KCS since 2010. They have two branches. Tilespace offers an unrivalled selection of exclusive, imported brands specialising in tiles, sanitary ware, taps and fittings. They recently upgraded from K8.07 to Babbage.

With an executive board counting on 75 years of collective industry experience and bolstered by dedicated and experienced management and staff, the collaboration has been dynamic earning TILESPACE a highly respected reputation in the marketplace. Management’s daily hands-on approach to the business has resulted in a culture of agility, intimacy and virtuosity breeding trust amongst key suppliers and long standing clients.

Benefits

The cashbook functionality added benefits
Real-time posting of transactions allowing up to date account figures
The new look and feel for the Babbage accounting module was a welcomed change
Having a web based application where they are able to login to the system and do credit limit overrides on the go
Data warehouse providing more in depth analysis of data

Ceramic Tile Warehouse

Beccles Tile Centre

Fired Earth

“A previous upgrade in April 2015 brought about another major change to our business when we started to use K8’s unified ledgers that are integrated with the trading system, and that put us on another platform for moving forward.”

Ian Mitchell, Information Systems Manager, Parkers Building Supplies

Challenge: existing systems, supplier stability, integration, stock control, management reporting, pricing

Kerridge Commercial Systems offers ‘cutting edge software for the merchant industry’, according to Ian Mitchell at Parker Building Supplies. Ian is Information Systems Manager at the leading independent and award winning timber and heavyside builders’ merchant.

The company was established in 1984, since when its philosophy has always been to offer high quality customer service backed up with good stock availability and an efficient delivery service. Today the company employs 280 people and trades from 25 locations across the South East.

“We have used K8 software since 2004,” said Ian. “At the time we needed to upgrade from our existing system to bring about a change of culture and KCS offered the best solution. Since then it has come on in leaps and bounds and we have continued to upgrade to the latest version each time a new version is cut.”

Gains and benefits

K8 upgrade means sales team can access software remotely on their tablets.
Web Builder will provide a portal for customers to access their accounts and print off invoices, PoDs etc
Parker’s now able to plan a ‘click & collect’ service for the future
An earlier upgrade delivered K8’s General Ledger - integrated with the trading system

Dale

EPS

Turnbull

BPX goes online with Web Builder

Established in 1965, Leicester-based BPX is a major distributor of electrical and electronic control and machinery products. The family-owned company has nine branches across the UK and employs over 120 staff. BPX selected and went live with Web Builder, the integrated online trading application, to drive their business growth.

Business need

BPX is particularly proud of providing first class service to its customers - the company offers 60,000+ products from 50 manufacturers and makes use of IT to increase efficiency and improve its customers’ experience. Managing Director, Guy Collins, explained the rationale to offer online trading, “Our starting point, was not only about meeting existing customer expectations, but also focussing on using web technology to attract new customers, in the UK and internationally.”

Web Builder

As a OneOffice user, BPX decided that Web Builder, with integrated e-commerce and back-office capabilities, was the most effective platform for the project. Given the size of the company’s product range, it was clear that this would be a complex project for BPX. “The first priority was to understand Web Builder and the fine tuning required for our processes. Essential for us was the need to replicate online the quality of our offline customer relationships and, unlike some distributors who use central warehousing, our e-commerce system had to integrate with local branch operations.”

Discover how our customers are winning with K8 Web Builder

Online catalogue

System infrastructure was a key aspect of the project – a new server investment was required to ensure that the new website, carrying the online store, performed quickly and efficiently. However, the biggest challenge was the creation of the catalogue itself - it amounted to an eight person-year project. “We had to ensure that, insofar as possible, customers could access a consistent level of information across our product range - making their selections without having to phone to check stock, pricing or specification detail. The new website went live with 35,000 products, ready for our customers to buy.”

A time for change

As a 24/7 ‘shop window’, BPX acknowledges that Web Builder represents an immediate opportunity to improve services – knowing that building awareness and transaction levels will take time. Furthermore the company is preparing for some sales desk staff to migrate towards customer service and technical advisory roles. Growing the knowledge base across the company will be a real asset for BPX. “The initial roll-out was based on introducing the online trading facilities – including back-end processes, at each branch and to some of our more demanding customers. We wanted everyone to feel confident about the processes and the added value services. Another key point was to ensure customers individual trading and credit terms were clearly visible online,” said Guy.

Impact of online trading

Online trading can have a big impact for a multi-location B2B distributor. Some routines are immediately automated, some job roles become more advisory with fewer repetitive tasks. BPX also believes that its customer service function will be more productive. “Going online means immediately exposing our entire catalogue to the ‘risk of being sold'. As a result, we expect our breadth of stockholding to broaden and service levels to increase in this ‘want it now’ era. It’s also an imperative to monitor orders closely. If a customer buys product X, but omits essential product Y, we have to respond accordingly.”

A business milestone

Unquestionably, BPX recognises the value of the opportunities as a result of investing in an online experience and equally, as the company’s use of IT develops, customer benefits will grow. “In taking an evolutionary approach, we want to build upon our reputation and improve services in a controlled manner. Our new website, with Web Builder, is a milestone initiative for BPX,” concluded Guy.

Highlights

Online catalogue of 35,000 products
Multi-location process capability
Bespoke customer pricing
Self-service – task automation
Improve upselling and related product offer
Structured introduction for online trading
Starting point for further online developments

Results

24/7 trading facility and global shop window
Opportunity to extend customer base
Customer-branch relationships maintained
Improved customer service experience

“The system has integrated our trading branches to enable efficient inventories to meet customer demands” Eric Immermann, Financial Director

Challenges: customer service, supply chain, stock management

Voltex is a leading stockist and distributor of a vast and comprehensive array of electrical and related materials on the African continent and has 76 strategically located outlets in South Africa, catering to the needs of the electrical industry including general electric products, energy and power services, power distribution, lighting, industry and related activities.

In addition to general outlets, a number of specialised divisions which supplement and enhance, directly and in directly, its reach into the areas in which it operates.

These specialised divisions include Voltex Lighting, Waco, Cabstrut, Atlas Cable Supplies, Versalec, LSis and Sanlic.

Easby Electronics

Eyre and Elliston

"As part of our on-line strategy, Web Builder is enabling us to generate significant additional revenues." David Mobbs, Marketing Design Manager

Challenges: To grow the business, and to improve services levels across a broader customer base, an integrated online ordering solution was required.

Wanzl is a leading manufacturer of a wide range of retail solutions, including shop fitting, self- service, logistics and security products. The company has its own maintenance, storage and assembly operations and Storetec, another part of the business, carries out high quality, eco-friendly product re-manufacturing, serving the independent retailer sector in particular. In 2011, the company installed Kerridge Commercial Systems’ Web Builder and created Storetec Direct, an integrated online service. The objective was to make Wanzl products available to the smaller retailer in a convenient and cost-effective manner.

The implementation of Web Builder proved to be very smooth. Following a three day training course provided by Kerridge Commercial Systems, the product’s easy-to-use content management system meant that, with some external support from an SEO specialist, much of the work could be completed in-house. From initial design and site build through to launch, the process took just 12 weeks. The big plus for Wanzl and Storetec Direct, is that Web Builder integrates with the company’s Kerridge Commercial Systems ERP solution. All stock information is presented to customers in real time and every transaction is completed on a one-time entry basis.

Gains and benefits

Valuable sales tool, achieving 300% of first year’s online target
24/7 channel to serve the UK’s 13,000 convenience stores
Low maintenance – product catalogue is easy to manage
Integral with social media and email activities
Delivering a high standard of service to customers
Leading to cross-selling opportunities
Generating incremental business with blue-chip clients
Enabling business to grow without additional resources

HOWDENS JOINERY

ROCK TRADING

"K8 provides a highly stable platform which allows us to successfully transact business with virtually no downtime or operational difficulties." Edward Broderick, IT Manager

Challenges: Prior to implementing K8, MKM used a system that had come to the end of its life. The company needed to move to a modern, fully integrated and scalable system that would enable the business to expand and move forwards. MKM sought to partner with a company that understood their sector and who they could engage with for focussed product development.

Based in Hull, MKM Building Supplies is the UK’s largest independent builders’ merchants. Established in 1996, the company, which continues to grow, currently operates 40 branches across the UK, serving in excess of 25,000 customers annually.

David Kilburn, who founded the company, had previously used Kerridge Commercial Systems products, and in 2006, when the need arose to replace MKM’s text-based system, K8 was shortlisted as a prime contender. The system was first configured to run 18 branches and now has around 500 users.

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In addition to K8’s established reputation as a class- leading solution for the sector, one of the big plusses in moving to K8 was that MKM could have all the requisite functionality in a standard system without the need for bespoke modifications. Furthermore, as a result of using a hosted platform in place of an in-house server, the MKM IT team have been able to take care of branch-level operator training as well as local application support. It has been an important factor in MKM’s development knowing that the system’s infrastructure is being well looked after 24/7.

K8 has proved itself capable of supporting the company’s principles of delivering high quality customer service. It has meant that the ‘stake-holding’ branch managers can use the system to suit their local requirements, while at the same time maintaining central control. K8, which MKM’s technical team have fine-tuned in a number of key areas, has helped the company to grow so successfully in a short period of time.

Gains and benefits

Branch roll-out template
Recommended order facility
Excellent stock control tools
Supports customer service goals
Effective financial controls
Robust credit chase processes
Tailored workplace dashboards
K8 electronic forms and documentation
Scalable platform for future development

VOLTEX

HALDANE FISHER

“We were delighted that no bespoke work would be required…. really impressed with what K8 does for the business.” Jeff Dowell, Managing Director

Challenges: business growth, system developments, system functionality, sales order processing

Brookwell Supplies Ltd is a family-run business supplying the complete range of Land Rover parts and accessories. The company started trading in 1981, from Bovey Tracey on the edge of Dartmoor, and having secured a contract to supply parts to the Royal Navy in Devonport opened a branch in Plymouth. The company is now the largest independent Land Rover parts supplier in the South West supporting customers in many countries around the world.

Brookwells had reached the point where their computer system was no longer meeting the needs of the business. It lacked functionality and there was no development strategy. For Brookwells, investing in bespoke work was not an option and a decision was made to invest in a new system. After thorough evaluation, K8 was chosen, and with the guidance and support of Kerridge Commercial Systems, the implementation was completed in around 3 months from server arriving to go live.

Gains and benefits

Modern GUI interface ensured fast user acceptance
Sales order processing and search facilities – invaluable for customer service
Complete parts supercession records –greater control and actions taken on old stock
Access to the whole Land Rover database 86,000 parts – maximises sales opportunities
Purchasing tools – easy and flexible to use, save time and support stock optimisation
Tailored screens to suit operator requirements –improves productivity and operator control
Up-to-the-minute information always available e.g. to view orders and profitability

BEARING MAN

EURO CAR PARTS

“Although it was hard work for everyone because of the short timescales, we opened the business with K8.” Paul Turner, Finance Director

Challenge: A new business required a fully integrated system to be implemented and live from day one

Rock Trading and Distribution supplies engineered wood products, manufactured to customer requirements, insulation and cladding materials. The company is also the exclusive regional distributor for Porotherm blocks.

Owned by Rawle, Gammon and Baker Holdings Ltd (RGB) - a Kerridge Commercial Systems customer for 15 years, Rock required their K8 system to be set up as an independent trading environment, without any direct links to their parent company’s system. This approach would enable the business to trade with RGB, in addition to supplying builders’ merchants and regional developers throughout the West Country.

The K8 implementation involved a challenging schedule - there was less than three months from contract signature to Rock opening for business. In that time, the K8 project had to be scoped and planned, hardware installed and training programmes completed. Teams from both Kerridge CS and Rock worked very closely together throughout, with frequent conference calls and onsite attendance as required. The Kerridge CS METIS project methodology was fully applied from the start and particularly tight control was maintained on the RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies) documentation.

As part of the training process – a key part of the project, Rock staff tested out a range of different trading scenarios to gain familiarity with K8. Quickly embracing the system, the users found it particularly reassuring that their knowledge of the previous generation, text-based Rev7 system used by RGB was transferable. By go live day – the company’s first day of trading, Rock management reckoned that users had about 90% of the knowledge they required to run the business.

With the objective met, Rock was in a position to push K8’s functionality and use the system to help develop a profitable future for the business.

Gains and benefits

A modern fully integrated system
Intuitive functionality
Advanced purchasing and stock control
Fast, efficient sales order processing
Flexible financial and reconciliation tools
Data export for group consolidation
Scalable to support business development
Proven and successful partner relationship

MKM BUILDING SUPPLIES

LAWSONS

“K8 has enabled us to implement best business practice.” Len Jacobs, Supply Chain Manager

Challenge: Need to improve business control and visibility.

Established in 1983 as a power tool repairer, Johannesburg-based SA Tool are agents and distributors for many leading brands of power tools and personal protective equipment. In addition to importing products from international suppliers, the company also has purchasing arrangements with major South African manufacturers. SA Tool holds an extensive range of stock and is proud to offer competitive pricing and deliver a high standard of service to its growing customer base.

Prior to implementing K8, SA Tool had used a number of systems which had been progressively outgrown. The management team realised that a fully integrated ERP solution, better suited to SA Tool’s diverse trading requirements, had become a strategic priority. Better control and visibility over the entire supply chain was increasingly critical, especially with some transactions, such as buy-outs being managed manually. The company chose K8 – which went live in October 2011, because its extensive range of advanced, integrated functionality were a close match for SA Tool’s requirements. The system has enabled accurate traceability across sales, procurement and financial modules which are making a big difference to company operations. K8 is also helping SA Tool to improve customer service levels; through tighter inventory controls and purchase forecasting, the company is able to offer a much enhanced depth and breadth of stock. A recent development for SA Tool has been to move its K8 system to a hosted environment. With the system being supported by Kerridge Commercial Systems and the infrastructure fully managed at the data centre, the company is now able to spend much more time on operational requirements and develop its use of K8.

Gains and benefits

Improved business control in every area
Intuitive functionality
Time savings – resulting in greater efficiency
Greater supply chain visibility
Eliminated manual, off-system processes
Comprehensive transaction traceability
Profitability and margin monitoring
Superior stock management
Purchase forecasting
Website trading integration
Integrated BI capabilities
Fully supported hosted platform
Future-proofed product development
Quality partner support

F H CHAMBERLAIN

TURNBULL BUILDING SUPPLIES

K8 enabling growth and development

Opening its doors in September 2014, Leamington Electrical Distributors (LED) launched the business using K8 from day one. Now an established local supplier, serving a growing customer base, K8 has helped LED to become a respected local supplier with a reputation to match. The system has enabled the company to maintain tight control of stock, purchasing and cash flow.

Choosing K8

LED considered it essential to have the right computer system in place - even with low transaction volumes initially. Manual tools, or non-integrated PC –based software, were not the best approach for how a customer-focussed business wanted to get things started.

LED Manager, Jim Knight said: “We looked at a number of systems, but with some previous KCS software experience, we were confident that K8 was the right choice. A system that we could grow into, our K8’s hosted, cloud-based platform meant we could focus on developing the business. We certainly didn’t want to spend time managing our computer system.

Getting started

With no ‘legacy position’ to consider, KCS had something of a ‘blank canvas’ to work with. Setting up the system to suit LED’s fresh new processes and a tailored training programme suitable for a small team were slotted into the company’s opening schedule.

“From first contact, the service from KCS has been attentive and professional. Creating customer, supplier and stock records from our first transactions, processing sales quickly and efficiently have been key component in building the business and service qualities.”

Establishing the business

LED has expanded its customer base significantly since formation, initially the focus was to attract business from local electricians and retail customers, in and around Leamington. “We are now serving larger trade companies further afield; in business sectors that range from distribution warehouses to exhibition companies.

Our supplier base is also much more substantial – we now stock products from many industry leaders.” As with many small companies, space is at a premium for LED, keeping the right breadth and depth of stock is essential. “With K8, we can keep a constant check on our stock levels; the system ordering tools are particularly useful and play a key part in ensuring that customer orders are fulfilled quickly.

It’s all about building our reputation.” Jim also talked about how K8 was used to help prepare the first year’s accounts. “With guidance from the helpdesk, it was straightforward to send the necessary figures to our accountants.”

Moving forward

LED is still a relatively small business and has come to value many of K8’s capabilities; particularly in cash flow management and monitoring profitability. It’s vital that our suppliers are paid on time – without their support our ability to trade would be at risk. It’s easy to compile and print a payment run each month.

"When processing customer orders, K8 will flag up any account that’s close to or exceeding credit terms.All this is extremely helpful in running the business.”

Was K8 the right choice for LED? “Yes absolutely. The system has enabled the business to run smoothly from the outset; K8 is an effective platform to support business development,” said Jim.

Highlights

Fast transaction processing
Complementary product sales
Gross margin notifications
‘Cloud’ hosting and support
Scalable system to support growth

Results

Expanded product range
Tight stock control disciplines
Efficient purchasing
Effective cash flow management
Supports quality customer service
Smooth year-end processes
Ensures a ‘finger kept on the pulse’

Easby Electronics

Eyre and Elliston

Implementing K8 to support future growth

“K8 will deliver everything we need on a single platform and we will be supported by an implementation team with experience of both systems. Sharing knowledge between the two platforms will be enormously beneficial.” - Emma Burgess, Operations Director

Sector: fire arms, ammunition wholesale and retail distribution
Requirement: integrated business information capabilities, warehouse, incl. barcoding and hand-held device applications and procurement management

Established in 1947, Macclesfield-based Edgar Brothers is a leading distributor and retailer of firearms and ammunition. The company is now preparing to implement K8 with a go live scheduled for January 2016. Edgar Brothers’ customers include shooting sports retailers, shooting grounds, police and defence sectors, professional and leisure customers. Company needed to replace their existing OneOffice system. It served the business extremely well since 1998 and supported considerable growth, however K8 had better fit for the family-owned business moving forward.

Forward-thinking company

Emma Burgess, Operations Director said, “Although our OneOffice system has supported our business very well – a six-fold increase in ten years, we were falling behind getting the most from our systems. Workarounds and the use of third party software have become necessary. As a forward-thinking company, this is not how we want to run the business.”

Need for investment

Realising the need for systems investment – Edgar’s staff needed more capable and advanced functionality to do their jobs and to improve business efficiencies in key areas. “With our trusted KCS partnership, we focussed on the business case for K8. We had to address some pressing requirements, notably integrated management information, warehouse management and procurement applications.”

Edgar Brothers has chosen to design a complete new business operation around K8. “The time was right to make a fresh start, revise our ISO9001 Quality Management System and steer towards making the best use of K8’s capabilities.”

Learning about K8’s capabilities

K8 project began with the Discovery phase - the first part of METIS, the KCS implementation methodology. The KCS team ran several, in depth ‘learning’ workshops focussing on different areas of the system’s business processes and established the basis for the system set-up. “The workshops highlighted K8’s considerable time-saving opportunities and efficiencies especially in procurement and warehousing along with the use of hand-held devices and bar codes.”

A team effort for the best results

Edgar Brothers said that “The whole project is a team effort and everyone is totally committed to achieving the best result. We are fortunate to have like-minded, enthusiastic and ambitious employees, departments are taking responsibility for their own system applications and have their own ‘pot of gold’ to aim for.”

A platform for future growth

Targeting some clear benefits, they Edgar Brothers are confident that the system will meet current needs now and be a platform for future growth. Having robust, effective and efficient systems will enable them to maintain its successful development and provide staff with the means to take the business forward. “Although it may not have been so a few years ago, we now have the capabilities to make K8 work for us.”

Edgar Brother’s K8 project has now passed through the METIS Discovery phase - a learning process that highlighted the system’s time-saving opportunities. Now embarking on a comprehensive staff training programme for the award-winning ERP software Edgar Brothers will use a train the trainer approach to develop the required competencies and system knowledge. K8 will go live in January 2016 to coincide with the company’s financial year end.

Highlights

Identified as best time for K8 migration
Learning workshops to build system knowledge
Comprehensive, structured training programme
K8 is giving staff the tools they need
System ‘gain’ objectives for each department

Alfred Franks and Bartlett

Ferroli

A positive K8 software upgrade experience for Lawsons

"The whole process went very smoothly. We handed the old system over on Saturday lunchtime and Kerridge Commercial Systems delivered the upgraded version on Sunday. The whole experience was simple, painless and positive!”

Jeremy Norris, Commercial Director, Lawsons

The Lawsons Group operates 17 branches across London and the South East. The family owned company specialises in the supply of building materials, timber and loft conversion products. Jeremy Norris, Commercial Director, has been with the group for 22 years.

“We strive to provide the best equipment we possibly can for our staff - from the trucks they drive to the IT systems they use,” he explained.

K8 processes around 3,000 transactions each day for Lawsons and manages 8,000 customer accounts. The company was one of the earliest users of the software and switched to the system in 1999 when its previous provider couldn’t guarantee ‘year 2K’ compliance. The initial 40 user system has grown and there are now 190 K8 users across 17 sites. The IT team always upgrades to the latest version of the software as soon as it’s available.

“I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t upgrade.” said Jeremy Norris. “Firstly staff using the system have a level of expectation – they don’t want to work with green screens. Secondly there’s the business need. By upgrading we can always stay at the leading edge and make the most out of any new functionality. The latest version of K8 lets us produce management accounts with critical information - such as how much profit we’re making at each branch on a daily basis - in the fastest way possible.”

The last K8 upgrade also delivered two key features for Jeremy. The first being PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant chip and pin integration that will replace non-integrated PDQ machines. All card transactions can be processed directly in K8 using PODS that read the cards - leading to tighter security of transactions, fewer typing errors and quicker authorisations from the banks.

Another feature is K8’s new transport delivery management system that will deliver significant improvements in the operation of Lawsons’s fleet. Jeremy explained, “With two thirds of our £80M business turnover being delivered, we generate a lot of paperwork with the potential for mistakes. Our drivers will now be able to capture customer signatures on a hand held device and make any adjustments pertaining to the materials delivered, cutting out the paperwork and updating the system instantly with the correct details.”

“K8 has made us super-efficient - a huge asset to the business. We would never have achieved our current turnover without the right system to support us” Helen Hutchinson, Director

Challenges: manual systems, business growth, stock control, lack of integrated functions

European Heritage is one of the UK's leading suppliers of high quality tiles. Renowned for its wide range of unusual stone products, the company’s range includes slate, travertine and limestone tiles from all over the world and also specialises in durable stone-effect porcelain tiling. European Heritage also sell wood flooring, wet room and underfloor heating products.

For some time, the company had relied on manual processes. However, the existing system wasn’t working for the business and information could not be relied upon. Guided by the Tile Association and a visit to another tile distributor, European Heritage ordered K8 and went live in April 2006. From being recommended K8, European Heritage now recommend K8 to other tile distributors.

Gains and benefits

Tight control of the whole business
Extensive functionality matches the company’s business processes
Adaptable and flexible system supports sales, purchasing and administration areas
Integrated modules – saves time, reduces errors, supports management
Information at the press of a button – no time wasted looking, its accurate and up to date
High quality print output – conveys and professional image to customers, adds value
Opportunities to progress as system knowledge grows
New applications and tools available to extend system value

FIRED EARTH

BECCLES TILE CENTRE

Challenges: Stock control, integrated account, management informationPASS (Passenger Agents Sales Service) operates as an independent commercial trading unit within

London Transport. A multi-million pound business, PASS supplies daily, weekly and monthly passes, child rate photocards and Travelcards through a network of 2,300 agents. Most agents are small newsagents/tobacconists located throughout the London Transport area covering Greater London and the Home Counties. PASS is also responsible for bulk sales of tickets to local authorities for OAPs and students as well as to large companies for their employees.

When it took over responsibilities for passes and cards, PASS found a significant difference between the physical stock of tickets in its warehouse or with agents and the recorded figures. There are some 200 different types of tickets required to cover every zone, time period and type of traveller. Since records of sales are based on a valid stock reconciliation, PASS had to undertake a full audit and revise all the records. The previous IBM System 36-based accounting system did not have the necessary capabilities and consequently PASS had to find a new system.

Gains and benefits

Fully integrated accounting - tight financial control of every process – more efficient and effective
Ticket stocks and allocations now fully controlled – saves time and saves money
Discrepancy error rates fallen to negligible levels
Sales forecasting provides management information and agent support
Field staff use HHDs for stocks movement recording, invoicing and re-ordering
Field-based operations enables fast payment collection and improved cash flow
Management accounts produced very soon after month end – improved management processes

Brookwells

Euro Car Parts

“I was impressed with the dedication and knowledge portrayed by the KCS team” - Paul Koster, Managing Director of Ark Trading

KCS is pleased to announce that Ark Trading Namibia is live on K8. Ark Trading was established in 1980, and is one of the oldest suppliers to the building trade in Windhoek, Namibia

Paul Koster bought the business in late 2015 and the Namibian Competition Commission awarded a last minute approval to him, to start trading from the 1st January 2016. Paul wished to start trading the new business on a new ERP system. This meant that the KCS team had to work under time constrains to configure the system, they; however, pulled it off, and the K8 system was live at the first week of trading.

Paul has had some previous experience on the trading side of K8, he contributed by helping his staff with training and supporting them with issues, in order to ensure a smooth go-live with minimal disruption to the business.

Ark Trading is looking forward to continue building the business partnership with KCS, and to use K8 to grow Ark Trading.

Tiaan Grobbelaar, Sales Manager at KCS said “Paul thank you for entrusting us as the IT partner for your new business, we wish you best of luck with your new venture and we are sure that your business will thrive, and that K8 will support your current and future strategies”

Risks were mitigated due to Ark Trading:

Using the standard K8 printing templates, so minimum time was spent on setup and testing
Allocating a strong internal team designated to the the project
Having strong internal buy-in, and support from the staff for the new system
Providing accurate master file and product data, with all relevant required information e.g
PAC (product analysis codes), branch files and supplier details

As a result of the K8 ERP implementation, Ark Trading will realise the following efficiencies and benefits:

Elimination of manual stock back-orders, more controlled and automated
More efficient stock forecasting, improved lead times and estimates
Able to manage direct deliveries on bulk building materials
Better Customer service
Better Stock tracking/management
Better reporting, managing by exception

Company History

Ark Trading was established in 1980, and is one of the oldest suppliers to the building trade in Windhoek Namibia. Ark Trading stocks from the spade to dig the foundation to the rolling ridge for the roof, including the nails and hammer to nail it in. They also supply sand, gravel and cement, doors, window frames, paint, plumbing supplies and sanitary ware.

90 years in business, 30 years with KCS

Dickson Bearings and Transmissions (Dickson); a third generation company, is one of Ireland’s leading distributors of industrial parts. Based in Dublin, Dickson are particularly proud of their heritage and customer service track record. Kerridge Commercial Systems users since 1986, the company considers K8 an essential business tool; progressively developed and fully supported.

Setting the scene

With an inventory of 150,000 part lines, managing the correct depth and breadth of stock is key to Dickson’s operations. Across Ireland, more than 2,000 businesses rely on Dickson for high quality service, backed by technical expertise and experience. With the majority of customer orders relating to equipment breakdown; time is of the essence to have the correct parts on site without delay and for repairs to be carried out.

K8 working hard

Initiated by the purchase of some second-hand Wang hardware in the mid-1980s, Dickson became a KCS customer by a slightly unorthodox route. Since then, the company has grown considerably in terms of both customer base and product range. In parallel, Dickson has taken its systems forward through major releases; upgrading to K8 in 2007. Joint Managing Director, Ian Dickson, refers to K8’s role in the company: “Without K8, we wouldn’t have a business; the system is reliable, works well and easy to use. Compared with other systems we have seen, being able to navigate quickly between modules and applications is fundamental for us. As a small company, we only have 14 users; it’s vital that our sales staff can create and process orders quickly and seamlessly. Moreover, we appreciate that time is money for our customers and responsiveness is critical. The fact that K8 is used by several major companies in our sector is particularly reassuring.”

Finger on the pulse

In its fast-moving business Dickson uses K8 to keep a close watch on all the key metrics. The system’s dashboard presentation shows the latest sales order situation, revenue and profitability. “K8 holds a wealth of information that we can use to run daily operations and drive the business forward. We can see a snapshot of day-by-day and monthly sales with margin performance at any time - the Advanced Analysis tools are essential to keep us informed. Our field sales team also have access to a web-enabled detail report to keep them in touch with what’s going on. If they are going to see a customer, they are well briefed with the latest information from K8.”

Future plans

Dickson are certainly looking to the future, pushing forward with their use of K8, to improve efficiencies and drive profitable trading. “Our business has grown organically over the years, we manage our stock by adding to existing product and introducing replacements as the demand for older items falls away. K8 supports our purchasing; what we need, manage our pricing structure and although it’s not an exact science, there’s forecasting detail at our fingertips. It’s good to see new K8 developments coming through and that give us confidence for our future,” said Ian.

Highlights

Essential business tool
Progressive upgrades
Proven and reliable software
Easy to use and navigate
Supports customer services

Results

Enables ‘finger on the pulse’
Tight stock control disciplines
Aids efficient purchasing
Effective pricing management
Powerful advanced analysis
Accessible dashboard detail
Platform for development

Manny's Timber and Hardware

Using K8 adds real value to the business

Established in 1987, Manny’s Timber and Hardware’s initial focus was in the manufacturing of timber roof trusses. Today, they have grown into a major hardware and building materials supplier.

Manny’s Timber and Hardware has been with Kerridge Commercial Systems for nearly 10 years. KCS South Africa implemented K8 ERP in September of 2006, the implementation decision being driven by the need to streamline manual processing together with the vast number of reports that can be exported or displayed reflecting real-time information.

Over the years Manny’s has found that K8 supported their growth and benefited them by providing them with improved reporting capabilities, management controls, stock management, and flexible sales & delivery methods.

Recently K8 completed the integration with their existing truss manufacturing software, enabling them to avoid recapturing sales orders on K8. Once the requirements and quantities are confirmed in the truss manufacturing software, all the information can be imported into K8 for further optimisation and invoicing.

Jenna Kyriakides, Financial Manager, said “We have a great relationship with Kerridge, there is so much flexibility within the K8 system and we are always improving our system functionality with the KCS SA Team. We find the diversity of the sales & delivery methods most useful”

Benefits:

Better Reporting Capabilities
Better Controls
Improved Stock Management
Flexible Sales & Delivery Methods
Integration with truss manufacturing software

Tiaan Grobbelaar, KCS Sales Manager commented “As we celebrate almost 10 years with Mannys, we are appreciative of their support for us over the years. The K8 software will keep evolving, providing an even better timber and hardware solution to our customers. We look forward to the next 10 years of a mutually beneficial relationship with Mannys and K8 supporting their business strategies”.

Company History:

Manny’s Timber and Hardware was formed in 1987 and are well known throughout the industry as a leader in maintaining good quality standards. They are also one of the largest truss manufacturers in South Africa and have been voted the best in the industry.

Manny’s Timber & Hardware progressed towards the supply of hardware and building materials and continues to expand their wide variety of building supplies to the contractor as well as Do-It- Yourself. Their service offerings extend even further to include full onsite design and manufacture of kitchens and BICs.

Their professional services range from design estimating to feasibility studies, from small extension work to major contractual projects. Manny’s Timber & Hardware, situated in Brentwood Park, Benoni, is open to the public 7 days a week. Welcome to your one stop shop for all your building needs.

For more information:www.mannystrusses.co.za

Howarth Timber

“K8 is an intrinsic, strategic component of our business. It does what we want it to do and what it says it will do - which is not always the case with software.”

- Paul Cornford, Group Information Systems Manager, Howarth Timber

Howarth Timber is a timber and building materials merchant operation. Its 29 sites are spread along the M62, down the A1 corridor as far south as Corby, and within the M25. There are approximately 1000 employees.

Paul Cornford, as Group Information Systems Manager, runs a team that is responsible for the IT infrastructure of the entire Howarth Timber Group, as well as the implementation and development of all the systems used by the merchant part of the business.

Paul was part of the team that chose K8, and the software was installed, branch-by-branch, over several months in 2004. Making the right choice of software to drive a business this size is critical. Paul advised those tasked with a similar project: “Don’t get bogged down in writing a requirements tome. Make a list, keep it simple and then make a judgement. We used the ‘MoSCoW’ principle to categorise our list of must haves, should haves, could haves and would likes. KCS won the business on its ability to supply the must haves more or less immediately and the stability of the company as a long term system provider.”

Gains and benefits

The introduction of robust and capable financial controls
A flexible system that supports the trading mechanisms of the group
Accurate stock figures the sales team can rely on
A 24/7 operation to support on-line sales
Stock held at optimum levels to meet demand
Enhanced business intelligence to enable replication of best practice across the group

Rockett Plumbing and Heating Supplies Ltd

“What’s great about K8 is that it gives us, a small business, all the system functionality of a large multi-branch national organisation without the overheads; Steve Rockett, Managing Director

Challenges: manual systems inadequate, business control, cash flow, pricing management

Rockett Plumbing and Heating Supplies opened for business in June 2012 and quickly established a reputation for offering an extensive range of products backed by trade knowledge. For managing director Steve Rockett, who has spent all his working life in the trade, being able to offer friendly, professional advice is an essential part of looking after his growing number of trade and retail customers.

By the time the doors opened, the decision had been made to install K8 and replace the temporary and inadequate manual systems. Understanding the need to respond quickly, Kerridge Commercial Systems developed an implementation plan that would make a fast go live possible. The process was made somewhat easier because Rockett staff had some K8 experience. Three months after trading began, K8 was fully operational and making a difference to the business.

Gains and benefits

Fast access to information
Improved customer service
Traceability of transactions
Elimination of errors
Consistent pricing
Better cash flow
CAD integration capability
Ecommerce opportunities

In House

JHC Hardware