News

In the retail industry today, it is not only your products, but your service, that keep customers coming back. Customer retention is an important part of any business strategy. Why not improve what you have to offer with a robust solution for your business?

To find out more, read the full blog post.

The festive season is just around the corner. Follow some of the tips below to make sure your business gets the most out of the festive season.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a specialist software provider of integrated ERP software solutions, focused on servicing the distributive and retail trades, announced today that Integrity Software have been renamed Kerridge Commercial Systems.

KCS believes that providing that all their services under one powerful brand will make them a stronger partner to their customers, enabling them to provide even more value to their customers.

KCS assures that the rebrand does not involve any changes to Integrity’s existing products. The rebrand enhancement is a reflection of KCS’s commitment to being a strategic partner to their customers. They are committed to continuing to provide innovative solutions to support their customers.

The rebrand brings about a few operational changes. KCS, South Africa have launched a new responsive website – www.kerridgecs.co.za. The new site combines KCS and Integrity Software product offering. KCS, SA have also moved offices, both in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.

Johannesburg Office:

Culross on Main, Building 4, 34 Culross Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg, 2191.

Cape Town Office:

First Floor, Moonstone Building, 25 Quantum Street, Technopark, Stellenbosch, 7600.

“The rebrand will have minimal effect on our customers. It’s business as usual. We will, of course, continue to develop our products and execute projects with the same level of excellence and professionalism our customers have come to expect. Going forward our strategy, values and vision remain unchanged. With one company name, KCS commitment to remain at the forefront of technology for the distributive and retail trades. Our mission is to help our customers source, stock, sell and service competitively, while we continue to focus on innovating and delivering market-leading ERP solutions built for the distributive and trades – only now we are reflecting this with a strong, unified company name”, Des Nangle, Managing Director for KCS.

As the company transitions to the name KCS, they would like to thank their loyal customers for their continued support. This is an exciting evolution for the company. KCS look forward to growing their offering in the African market and are counting on the continued support of their customers.

For more information on Kerridge Commercial Systems, visit www.kerridgecs.co.za or contact marketing@k8.co.za

"MegaBuild has been a long-standing customer. It is good to see clients prosper with the solutions Kerridge Commercial Systems offers."

Danie Du Toit, Financial Director, MegaBuild

Pupkewitz MegaBuild have gone live with K8 Web Builder a powerful, integrated e-commerce solution. Web Builder integrates into Pupkewitz MegaBuild’s existing K8 ERP system, enabling them to trade 24/7.

Pupkewitz MegaBuild are one of Southern Africa’s largest building and hardware supply operations and have been a leading supplier of building goods since 1946. The addition of an e-commerce website adds a lot of value to the business. The online selling capabilities enables customers to place orders at any time of the day or night, making Pupkewitz MegaBuild more accessible to their customers.

Danie Du Toit, Financial Director at MegaBuild said: “We are currently still in a final proof of concept stage with only limited customers having access to our website. We look forward to the official launch, when all customers can benefit from our e-commerce service offering.”

"The K8 roadmap presented to us, by Kerridge Commercial Systems, cemented our decision. We realised that an ERP change in our business is not a small one, and that our preferred ERP supplier must still be around in the next 20 years."

Gonnie Nadasen, General Manager, Kaizen Motor Spares Distributors

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) are pleased to announce that Kaizen MSD have decided to partner with KCS to rollout K8 throughout all their branches in South Africa. Kaizen Motor Spares Distributors, established in 2007, have grown into one of the largest automotive aftermarket distributors in South Africa with branches in Johannesburg, Durban, Nelspruit, Cape Town and Polokwane.

Kaizen MSD realised the need for a comprehensive, fully integrated system, Kerridge Commercial Systems. K8 will be replacing their legacy system. Kaizen MSD felt they had outgrown the system as it lacked multi branch stock management, financial controls, margin management and support in general. Furthermore, their legacy system did not cater for product descriptions, nor did it have a product file per branch.

Kaizen MSD will find immediate value in the alternatives associated with K8 once it is implemented. Such benefits include but are not limited to; back to back processes for buy-outs and strong financials for a multi branch business as well as the centralised controls needed.

"We are the first traders to provide customers with this service from the convenience of their vehicles. Clients can remain in their vehicles while material is brought to them and loaded into their vehicles."

Levi Strauss, Director of Purchasing, Ark Trading

Ark Trading has been a Kerridge Commercial Systems customer since 2015. K8 replaced an outdated POS “Sales Assist” and manual back office process. Paul Koster, new Managing Director of Ark Trading, focused the relaunch of Ark Trading to position the company to provide the best possible service to all building contractors. As part of the relaunch, Ark Trading launched its ‘Drive Thru’ for all hardware and building customers in June 2017.

Powered by K8 technology, Ark Trading are able to have a mobile work station using a wireless network to service their customers in their yard. The ‘transit service’ concept was complete with a printer, allowing customers to receive a full service and sales transaction from the convenience of their vehicle.

Did you know that in 2016, mobile devices such as smartphones overtook PCs as the most popular device for surfing the net, and more search is carried out on smartphones than on any other device? We all vastly underestimate how much time we spend on our mobile devices (phones and tablets), sometimes by as much as 30%. In 2017, mobiles will be used to consume more content than televisions.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Did you know there has been a 91% growth in the use of mobile devices over the past two years throughout the entire b2b purchasing process?

And this is only going to continue to grow.

View our eCommerce webinar page for more information, and register on GoToWebinar for our free Webinar to hear eCommerce expert, Charlotte Graham-Cumming, share her extensive experience in creating and implementing eCommerce strategies on Thursday 14th September at 4pm.

The promotion engine enables buy one, get one free offers amongst many others, and enables promotions to be applied to purchase orders. This ensures that you can now benefit from promotions that are offered by your suppliers.

Find out more about our sales order processing software.

“In terms of technical scalability K8 is ready to go from 1 depot to 600+. It can be used just as effectively by small businesses as by large operations like ours.”

Clive Cockburn, CIO, Howdens Joinery Co.

A company that operates 642+ branches and manages 450,000 trade accounts clearly needs robust software to ensure sales are processed efficiently and inventory is managed visibly and accurately. Ten years ago Howdens Joinery chose K8, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution developed by Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to replace its ageing legacy system. Since then the relationship between the two companies has evolved into a strong partnership that has seen the KCS team working closely with Howdens to help them achieve their business objectives and regular reviews to plan future strategic developments.

Read the full story and download the pdf.

Chris Hirst, head of pre-sales at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), explains how using a computer system with a fully integrated business intelligence (BI) module can provide you with clear insights into every aspect of your business, help you spot trends and support you in making crucial business decisions.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

With our solutions you gain instant access to performance measures such as sales versus targets, aged debt profile, inventory on-hand, orders taken, supplier performance and many others, you can be sure that you stay connected to the business at all times. Reporting Dashboards provide your business with the ability to tailor and create your own KPI’s and reports that can be delivered to your users, on their Desktop, Smartphone or Tablet.

Find out more about our business intelligence solutions.

Sanjay Fatania, Financial Implementation Manager at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), explains how using a computer system with fully integrated financials delivers greater efficiency, visibility and faster decision making to your business.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in the current economic climate and every business owner or financial manager wants constant, fast access to the most up to date and accurate financial information. Using a computer system that combines a trading system with fully integrated financials means up to the minute sales figures, debtor position, cash, stock values, etc., will always be immediately available for informed analysis.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Tony Pey, Head of Sales Engineering at Kerridge Commercial Systems, explains the benefits of using eCommerce.

You may have heard that introducing eCommerce is one of the most profitable changes you can make to your business. And, that your new ‘virtual’ branch will soon be generating valuable incremental sales, increasing your turnover and delivering a 24/7 service to your customers.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

“Our decision to go with K8 was based upon many factors and in particular its ability to manage rebates, inventory and margins.”

John Cave, Technical Sales Director, EH Smith Builders Merchants

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is delighted to announce that, after a rigorous selection process, EH Smith Builders Merchants has chosen KCS as its ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems provider.

An experienced team, under the leadership of John Cave (Technical Sales Director) has spent 12 months evaluating a wide range of options and speaking to their buying group peers. John says “Our decision to go with K8 was based upon many factors and in particular its ability to manage rebates, inventory and margins. Furthermore, the strength and depth of knowledge of our sector within the KCS team was unrivalled.”

This investment in ERP systems represents one of the biggest single investments made by the Company. A significant level of cost within this investment has been allocated to the training of EH Smith’s very experienced work force.

"We liked K8 because of its ability to deal with timber lengths and widths and the fact it had an integrated financial package."

Graham Knox, Managing Director, I.J.K Timber Group

I.J.K Timber Group, a timber company operating from two sites in Northern Ireland, is about to implement K8 software from Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS). The Belfast and Dungannon based company imports and distributes softwood and hardwood as well as constructional and decorative panel products.

Trading as Irvin & Sellers, Keizer Venesta and Northern Hardwood in the Irish market, the team completed a management buy-out in May 2004 from their previous owners - who bought the companies from Meyer International in 1991. Today they supply kitchen manufacturers, joinery works, builders’ merchants, shop fitters, furniture manufacturers and builders.

The I.J.K team decided to upgrade to K8 because their existing, ageing system lacked the functionality they needed for stock management and reporting. “Our existing system was causing us to do too many workarounds in order to get the management information we needed to make better decisions,” said Managing Director, Graham Knox. “We liked K8 because of its ability to deal with timber lengths and widths and the fact it had an integrated financial package. We’ll also be using the CRM, warehouse management and delivery scheduling functions within K8 and are looking forward to working with the KCS team to integrate our hardwood tally devices into the system.”

Graham believes once K8 is in place he’ll be able to enhance customer service levels through the simplified sales order process which will deliver a shorter lead time between receipt of orders and deliveries. “Some of K8’s features will be new to us as a business, such as automated order confirmations and automated purchase forecasting. And, because we’ll be able to access product information much faster and be able to streamline and simplify many of our existing processes, I’m confident we’ll soon see efficiencies.”

Graham said he’s been impressed with the KCS team who are very knowledgeable about the timber industry. “They were really interested in understanding how we like to do business and I’m looking forward to a smooth transition to the new system.”

"One of the key messages for our customers to take away was that in challenging trading environments, they can rely on K8 and the Kerridge Commercial Systems team to support their businesses..."

Andrew Wilkinson, European Sales Director, Kerridge Commercial Systems

Konnect17 – a two-day customer conference held recently for users of K8 software, was the best-attended Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) customer conference yet, with 30% more merchants present than at last year’s event.

The 200 delegates learnt that 34,000 man-days had been invested by the company in developing the latest version of K8, with a focus on producing solutions such as apps that make it easier for their customers to engage with them. The software’s enhanced business intelligence modules are now making it easier for companies to measure real time performance against targets, and the latest responsive version of K8 Web Builder is providing merchants with an online trading platform that delivers a superb experience to meet the expectations of today’s customers.

Engineering Services Electrical (ESE) have signed an agreement to become Datawright’s newest customer. The company have chosen the K8 Field Service solution to support growth plans for their energy management, property and facilities business.

Established in August 1992, ESE work with a range of public/private sector business and domestic end users across Northern Ireland. The company provide a comprehensive range of essential facility services including, Building Services, Plumbing and Mechanical and Electrical Installation and Testing, Pest Control, Waste Management, Landscaping and Consumables.

ESE chose K8 Field Service for its range of functionality. Key to their decision was precise control over all field service processes. ESE also required a fully integrated field service mobile app and comprehensive back office functions to streamline processes such as call logging. Their K8 system will go-live with 7 full users and 25 mobile app users.

ESE have recently won a substantial 7-year service contract for two large Housing Associations in Northern Ireland. This will be a partnership contract with Bayview Contracts.

Bayview Contracts are an existing Datawright customer using K8 Field Service. ESE had previously been evaluating software options for a long period; the new housing contract win meant that they needed a solution that would fit both their current requirements, and their future requirements, as they grow.

Darren Johnson, Director at ESE said: “We have a very good working relationship with Bayview Contracts and we were impressed with the way they utilised the K8 Field Service system to manage their operations. We were confident that K8 Field Service would provide the future-proof flexibility for expansion that we were looking for.”

For more information about Engineering Services Electrical, please visit their website.

About Datawright

Datawright provide advanced business management systems, installation and support services to manufacturing and field service customers, large and small. Datawright have been immersed in the manufacturing and field service markets for over 35 years and have developed class leading, functionally rich and highly flexible ERP systems: K8 Manufacturing and K8 Field Service.

Datawright is a Kerridge Commercial Systems company - a group of companies specialising in providing leading, market-specific, business management solutions across the world.

Interstate + Lakeland Lumber Corp of Greenwich, CT is delighted to be partnering with Dancik International to deliver their replacement ERP solution with the award winning software, K8.

CARY, NC - Dancik International, a Kerridge Commerical Systems Company, announced today that Interstate + Lakeland Lumber Corp of Greenwich, CT selected K8 as the integrated business solution to replace their current ERP.

Interstate + Lakeland Lumber Corp are a full-service building materials and custom millwork supplier that has been dedicated to servicing the finest builders and contractors throughout Westchester, NY, and Fairfield, CT since 1922. With eight locations they are the premier supplier of lumber, engineered wood, millwork, tooling, and all of your exterior and interior trim needs.

“K8 has real pedigree, heritage and leading-edge functionality coupled with a clear and comprehensive product roadmap that demonstrates a long-term commitment to our industry in North America,” stated Gary Schneidman, CFO of Interstate + Lakeland Lumber. “Dancik has great leadership, vision, culture and outstanding people which combined to form an important part of our selection process and we believe we have found a long-term partner who will support us to fulfill our business strategy and goals for the future.”

“Dancik is proud to be associated with Interstate + Lakeland Lumber Corp” commented Alan Cross, Executive Vice President North America. “Their attention to detail, deep domain knowledge and passion for the industry was evident from our first meeting, and we are excited to be working together to deliver success with K8 across their business.”

For more information on Interstate + Lakeland Lumber Corp visit, www.interstatelumber.com.
For more information on Dancik International visit, www.dancik.com.

About Dancik International

Dancik International provides integrated software solutions focused on servicing the building materials, lumber, floor coverings, home décor, electrical and plumbing distribution, wholesale and retail markets. Immersed in software delivery for over 35 years, their technical experts are thought leaders in business management solutions, and their innovative and flexible approach ensures long-term customer engagement. Dancik focuses on providing world class solutions for lumber, flooring, tile, plumbing, HVAC and building materials verticals. The Dancik team has one clear mission: to design and deliver high performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable dealer and distribution customers to source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively. Dancik is part of the Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Group of companies. To learn more, visit www.dancik.com

“I know we made the right decision when we chose K8. We gained so much more functionality and now we work faster and much more efficiently.”

Stuart Poole, Product Analyst, Elta Automotive

Stuart recommended K8 to his managing director because, as well as being a system that was fast and easy to use, he liked how Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) was a ‘one product’ company, committed to developing its core K8 solution. He was also reassured by KCS’s automotive heritage and how several large companies in the industry were already using it successfully.

"A big part of the decision to go with K8 was how effectively it manages rebates, which at the moment we have to track manually."

Mike Davies-Key, Commercial Manager, Markovitz Builders’ and Plumbers’ Merchants

K8 software goes live at Markovitz Builders’ and Plumbers’ Merchants this summer. The company had been about to sign with another ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) provider when a fellow merchant suggested they look at K8.

Houston, Texas — It took less than three months for A-H Distributors to implement the Mincron warehouse management solution at their new 150,000-square-foot Distribution Center in New Brunswick, N.J. Project Manager Rene Jones described the process as “very simple” and added that the staff got confident with using it during their preliminary training sessions.

The location is ideal — near major roadways that provide easy access to the DC’s five shipping bays for inbound and outbound trucks. Currently A-H Distributors holds about 7,000 SKUs of plumbing, heating, electrical, PVF, drainage and specialty products in its inventory.

Jones, who has 20 years of experience improving warehouse operations as the founder and President of Total Logistics Solutions.

“Part of my expertise is process flow,” he noted. “The Mincron automated system will be very advantageous to A-H Distributors. Everything in that environment revolves around efficiency and accuracy, and this will help them maximize both.”

The Mincron StockSmart Warehouse Management System allows distributors to maintain a 99.9% inventory accuracy level while increasing the speed with which staff can receive, pick and ship product.

“Our solution automates warehouse workloads, minimizes disruptions and errors, and enables management to react and respond quickly to customers’ special needs,” said Mincron Director of Operations Jonathan Lindle. “It also helps distributors capitalize on their use of available space, equipment and personnel.”

Jones agreed. “This system allowed A-H to install higher shelving, which gives them a greater capacity for inventory,” he said. “And it works hand-in-hand with their turret material handling machines, which allows staff to dramatically increase their efficiency.”

A turret might best be described as a forklift on steroids.

“In a typical warehouse environment with forklifts, drivers are always on the lookout for the aisle and shelf they need,” noted Jones. “They also have to stop, turn and raise the forklift each time they handle a product. All of that adds more time to the process.

“A wire guidance system in the floor that is tied into the A-H warehouse management solution runs the turret at the new DC. Product is scanned as it is received, and then the system does the rest until it is in their customers’ hands. When the driver locks an order into the system, a wire literally guides the equipment to the exact location. As it gets closer, the lift starts rising so it is in the perfect position to automatically and accurately handle the product.”

Because the DC is new, A-H Distributors has no baseline with which to measure its ROI. But Jones is confident that the Mincron system will pay for itself quickly.

“It generates reports that calculate productivity levels for every warehouse activity,” Jones said. “Being able to analyze that data and make any necessary adjustments is an incredibly valuable tool. And the system won’t let the driver pick the wrong item or amount needed. That type of accuracy saves distributors significant time and money in the warehouse.”

As Lindle described, “Mincron’s warehouse solution is designed to be extraordinarily comprehensive and yet be highly flexible. It works equally well with small branch warehouses and massive distribution centers like A-H. And it effectively drives the processes of strictly structured environments as well as it does for those that are rapidly changing and unpredictable.”

About Mincron and Kerridge Commercial Systems

Mincron, a KCS Group company, provides innovative business management solutions that are flexible, scalable and fully integrated. Mincron offers both the SmartDistributor and K8 software solutions, which can be hosted on premise or in the cloud. Our customers range from multi-national publically traded companies to single-location family owned businesses. Typically, customers achieve ROI on their investment within just a few years.

U.K.-based Kerridge Commercial Systems designs and delivers high-performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable distributive trade customers to source, stock, sell and service more competitively. With four decades of experience, they are thought leaders in trading and management technology. Learn more by visiting our website, www.mincron.com.

Press Contact:
Mary Jo Martin
Marketing Manager
mjmartin@mincron.com
281-999-7010 x3010

HOUSTON, Texas — TWC Distributors has signed an agreement to become Mincron’s newest customer. They have chosen our SmartDistributor ERP solution, and plan to be “live” in 2017. TWC is based in Sarasota, Fla., and last year moved into a new headquarters designed by President Tim Milligan. The company operates 10 locations across Florida and Georgia.

Founded in 1989 as an agricultural irrigation distributor, TWC soon expanded to take advantage of the rapidly growing landscape irrigation and supplies market. Since then, they’ve continued to expand their product lines to meet their customers’ changing needs. Their offering now ranges from pumps and filters to septic systems, pond supplies, outdoor lighting and holiday decorative lighting.

According to TWC Technology Manager Tim Millligan Jr., TWC likes the strength of the IBM Power System. He added that they are looking forward “to gaining efficiency, more accurate inventory tracking, and improving their bottom line.”

Milligan, who served as the Project Leader for the search of a new ERP system, stated “the decision was unanimous among the entire team to select Mincron.” He is excited to get started with the implementation, and went on to note several other reasons for choosing the Mincron solution:

• Smart Distributor is very user friendly, which was a big factor.

• Everything that the software has to offer fits their needs as a distributor.

• Their employees will become more productive, and be able to perform their jobs even better.

• The 30-year reputation that Mincron has built.

"We are looking forward to doing a lot with Mincron,” Milligan shared. “We plan to implement a cycle-counting system, go as paperless as we can, and implement a bar-code system. We are also excited to increase our profit margins because we will be able to easily see where we are currently weak on our price plans.”

He added, “I have to say that Mincron has been very easy to work with and have been very professional in everything that has transpired thus far. I’m excited to get started with the implementation!"

About Mincron

Mincron, a KCS Group company, provides innovative business management solutions that are flexible, scalable and fully integrated. Mincron offers both the SmartDistributor and K8 software solutions, which can be hosted on premises or in the cloud. Our customers range from multi-national publically traded companies to single-location family owned businesses. Typically, customers achieve ROI on their investment within just a few years.

U.K.-based Kerridge Commercial Systems designs and delivers high-performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable distributive trade customers to source, stock, sell and service more competitively. With four decades of experience, they are thought leaders in trading and management technology. Learn more by visiting our website, www.mincron.com.

Press Contact:
Mary Jo Martin
Mincron Software Systems
mjmartin@mincron.com
281-999-7010 x3010

HOUSTON — Blackman Plumbing Supply Inc., a Mincron customer since 1988, recently upgraded and went live on version 12.1 of their core ERP system along with version 2.0 of their StockSmart automated warehouse management system. Blackman is planning to implement several more of our business solutions in the near future.

Headquartered in Bayport, N.Y., where they operate a 250,000-square-foot Distribution Center, Blackman Plumbing Supply has 22 fully stocked branches and showrooms in New York and New Jersey that serve the greater NYC metropolitan area. The company distributes plumbing, industrial, waterworks, tools, HVAC and outdoor living products and supplies. In 2016, Blackman entered the Florida market with a 9,000-square-foot showroom in West Palm Beach that features plumbing, tile, lighting and stone.

Blackman’s history dates back to 1921 when Sam Blackman opened a small plumbing supply company in Brooklyn. Among the company’s key historical highlights:

• Opened their first branch in 1940 in Flushing, N.Y.

• Entered the HVAC market in 1995.

• Named Robert Mannheimer the President, CEO and Chairman in 2012 following the death of Richard Blackman, son of the founder.

• Signed an historic contract in 2014 making Blackman one of the only stocking distributors of the three major plumbing lines — Kohler, American Standard and Toto.

To learn more about Blackman, visit www.blackman.com.

Mincron’s comprehensive ERP solutions give distributors the strategic tools and competitive edge they need to drive growth and improve margins. This functionality maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, increases sales, enhances service — and, ultimately, achieves greater profitability.

The StockSmart warehouse management system facilitates accurate and swift order picking and shipping, while maintaining 99.9% inventory accuracy. It is designed to work equally well with small branch warehouses as well as massive distribution centers. The system automates warehouse workloads, minimizes disruptions, and enables managers to react and respond quickly to meet customers’ special needs. It also guides distributors to make the best use of available space, equipment and personnel.

About Mincron and Kerridge Commercial Systems

Mincron, a KCS Group company, provides innovative business management solutions that are flexible, scalable and fully integrated. Mincron offers both the SmartDistributor and K8 software solutions, which can be hosted on premise or in the cloud. Our customers range from multi-national publically traded companies to single-location family owned businesses. Typically, customers achieve ROI on their investment within just a few years.

U.K.-based Kerridge Commercial Systems designs and delivers high-performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable distributive trade customers to source, stock, sell and service more competitively. With four decades of experience, they are thought leaders in trading and management technology. Learn more by visiting our website, www.mincron.com.

Press Contact:
Mary Jo Martin
Marketing Manager
mjmartin@mincron.com
281-999-7010 x3010

CARY, NC – Dancik, a Kerridge Commercial Systems Company, provider of integrated software solutions focused on servicing the building materials, lumber, floor coverings, electrical and plumbing distribution, wholesale and retail markets, announced today that HWF Wholesale selected Dancik Navigator (DNav) to support their considerable distribution business.

HWF is the wholesale division of Higgins Wood Floors, a company that has been in business for over 40 years. HWF Wholesale pride themselves on being a fantastic resource for flooring stores, lumberyards, and professional installers and finishers. HWF have two locations, one in Easton, MA and the other in Rochester, NH. They have over 250,000 SF of unfinished and prefinished wood flooring in stock, offer custom manufactured stair treads & millwork, two fully stocked pro shops, and inside & outside sales staff.

HWF’s current ERP is too narrowly focused on installation, but their considerable distribution requires a more robust system. They decided on DNav for a variety of reasons but specifically to support their substantial distribution business.

DNav is a fully integrated business management solution designed specifically for floor covering retailers, manufacturers, and distributors. Sales processing, mobile data access, inventory management, business intelligence, and accounting are easy to use and fully integrated. DNav’s modern architecture and comprehensive industry-specific functionality make it the ERP for flooring companies.

“DNav is the ERP solution for flooring distributors,” commented Alan Cross, Executive Vice President for KCS North America. “DNav is the result of more than 25 years of industry specific research and development making it the best solution to manage HWF’s distribution business.”

March 2017 — HOUSTON, Texas — Industrial Supply magazine selected Mincron to be one of the companies interviewed for a Software Update feature. The article begins on page 24 of the March/April issue, and a section with comments from Mincron’s Director of Operations Jonathan Lindle is on pages 27-28. Lindle shares some great information about Mincron’s robust Vendor Rebates module; our new browser-based dashboard application that allows users greater flexibility; as well as our comprehensive e-commerce solution, WebSmart B2B and B2C.

Mincron also has a new advertisement (shown here) that appears on page 29 of that issue.

To view the March/April Digital Edition of Industrial Supply, please click here.

In related news, we will be attending the Industrial Supply Association Annual Convention April 22-24 in Denver. Mincron will have a booth in the convention hall on Monday, April 24 during “Supplier Day,” during which we’ll also be taking part in the Network Now meetings. And we look forward to meeting many distributors in their booths as we walk the convention floor on Sunday, April 23, for “Distributor Day,” as well as during other networking opportunities.

About Mincron Software Systems

Mincron, a KCS Group company, provides innovative business management solutions designed specifically for hard goods distributors. Our flexible, scalable, fully integrated ERP systems drive productivity and sales, improve service and reduce costs — ultimately boosting profitability. Mincron offers both the SmartDistributor and K8 software solutions, which can be hosted on premise or in the cloud.

Mincron’s 100% implementation success rate builds a strong foundation for the partnerships that we value with our customers, which range from multi-national publically traded companies to single-location family owned businesses.

Press Contact:
Mary Jo Martin
Mincron Software Systems
mjmartin@mincron.com
281-999-7010 x3010

Dancik International, provider of integrated software solutions, focused on servicing the building materials, lumber, floor coverings, home décor, electrical and plumbing distribution, wholesale and retail markets, announced today that Milwaukee Builders Supply, Inc. has successfully launched K8 to support their rapid growth wholesale building materials distribution business.

Milwaukee Builders Supply is a leading wholesale building materials distributor in southeastern Wisconsin. Success and growth have brought about a need for an integrated solution to support streamlined processes and further expansion. Milwaukee Builders Supply has gone live on K8 approximately one year from being introduced to Dancik and K8 during the North American product launch.

The biggest concern for Milwaukee Builders Supply was that day to day sales not be negatively impacted by the go live process. The K8 team worked closely with the Milwaukee Builders Supply team to ensure there were no interruptions during the transition. “My team is quickly learning with the support of the K8 team,” commented John Lambie, President, Milwaukee Builders Supply. “I have no doubt that within a short time we will be fully functional on our own.”

Milwaukee Builders Supply entered into a partnership with Dancik with the same goal in mind and are pleased to be achieving it. “A week after go live we are already able to see how K8 will help our company run more efficiently and have a clear picture of all inventory movement,” said John Lambie.

Alan Cross, KCS Executive Vice President of North America, said, “We are delighted to partner with MBS and support their business management needs. MBS evaluated K8 against many competitors and was confident K8 was the right software for their growing business.”

K8, a fully-integrated software gives your business the ability to maximize control of your inventory and operations and to better serve your customers. The application is ideal for distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and large retailers who need quick order entry procedures, tight control over inventory, visibility of operations, and accurate financial tracking.

We take great pleasure in inviting you to Fusion’17, the combined user conference for all Dancik International and Mincron Software Systems customers. Dancik and Mincron are part of the Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Group of companies. It is an exciting time for us as we continue to grow and look for opportunities to build stronger relationships with our customers.

Fusion’17 will bring together experts from around the world ensuring a varied program full of learning, networking opportunities, and fun. The agenda will include guest speakers, and breakout sessions focused on all areas of your software to make sure you are getting the most from your investment.

Fusion’17 will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, October 15-18, 2017. Fusion’17 is expected to be an engaging and interactive user experience. Experts from Dancik and Mincron will be available throughout the conference to share knowledge and answer questions. There will be lots of fun and networking opportunities as well!

Fusion’17 promises to be a great event for all Dancik and Mincron users! Save the date October 15-18, 2017 for Fusion’17.

Registration information for Fusion’17 and the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel will be available soon.

Dancik International is pleased to announce that Main Street Art (MSA) selected Dancik Navigator (DNav) as the ideal ERP to help facilitate their lofty growth plans.

Headquartered in Alpine, Utah, MSA is a wholesale distributor of high-quality tile. The family-owned business has been operating for 30+ years. They are known as a source for the finest tile available in North America. MSA chose a SaaS deployment for their organization which will serve a current customer count of ten and projected to grow to 20 by early 2018.

The Dancik project management team will be working closely with MSA in the coming months as they work toward a 2017 go live.

Members of the Midwest team in Traverse City include (from left) Jimmy Mowry, Ron McPherson, Jay Hallan, John Semeyn Jr. and John Semeyn Sr.

HOUSTON, Texas — Midwest Refrigeration Supply Company, one of Mincron’s newest customers, has successfully gone live on SmartDistributor 12.1.

The family owned HVAC/R wholesaler, founded in 1945, also provides in-house engineering services and rental tools. In addition to headquarters in Traverse City, Mich., the company has two locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

John Semeyn Jr., the fourth generation of his family at Midwest Refrigeration, believes the SmartDistributor ERP system will be instrumental in achieving their strategic long-term goals of growth, streamlining inventory and improving productivity, and opening new locations in Northern Michigan.

He was extremely pleased with how Mincron managed the implementation process and the hands-on support provided by the Mincron team. Semeyn added that the transition was the ideal opportunity for the company to make improvements to their data organization and item master list, and create a product labeling and description system that simplifies product searches.

“When I was interviewing software providers, it meant a lot to me that the Mincron sales guys had come from careers in distribution and were recommending a system they had first-hand experience using,” Semeyn said. “They know the needs of a business like ours, and how important it is to have a seamless transition when implementing a new system.

“I can’t emphasize enough the high level of support we received from everyone at Mincron. They followed through and delivered on the promises they made during the sales process. Whenever we called, a person answered the phone. Every time we had questions, our account manager was right there for us. And when we had some turnover in our accounting staff, Mincron even sent one of their trainers to help with our back office and ensure they were comfortable using the system.”

Semeyn also praised the staff at Midwest Refrigeration for their loyalty and efforts during the implementation.

“My biggest fear at the start was having them turn on me and not get on board with learning the new system,” he said. “But they really stepped up to the plate. We included them from the beginning in our meetings with Mincron to map out the implementation. And we spent time doing personal training at each location to increase their comfort level. SmartDistributor is so intuitive and easy to navigate that our staff was able to grasp it quickly and see the value and benefits it would provide us. I am so proud of all of them, and of my Dad — who has really embraced it, even though it took me several years to convince him we needed a new software solution.”

Semeyn said the time, effort and resources involved in the decision-making and implementation process have been well worth it.

“We could see operational improvements after just a few days,” he noted. “And within two weeks, I felt like everyone was already proficient in using the system.

“For wholesalers interested in exploring a new software option, I’d advise them to do their homework and research. Check out the people you’re going to be partnering with and be confident that they are going to follow through on their promises throughout implementation and into the future. The Mincron team was amazing to work with and totally put me at ease. Their on-site support was critical to our success. We couldn’t be more pleased with the process and early results. SmartDistributor was the tool we were missing to help us build our business to the next level.”

About Mincron

Mincron Software Systems, a KCS company, is a leading provider of innovative, powerful software solutions for wholesale distributor, logistics companies and other businesses requiring tightly integrated enterprise software solutions. Mincron serves customers with exceptional care, training and implementation. Over its 34-year history, the company has maintained a 100% implementation success rate. Mincron assists 16,000 active users in over 1,700 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada that distribute $18 billion of durable goods annually.

Press Contact:
Mary Jo Martin
Mincron Software Systems
mjmartin@mincron.com
281-999-7010 x3010

Dancik International is pleased to announce that Exquisite Rugs selected Dancik Navigator (DNav) as the best ERP to address their consignment and inventory needs.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Exquisite Rugs is a wholesale manufacturer/distributor of high-quality Persian rugs. The family owned business opened 80 years ago and spans three generations. They are known for offering some of the world’s finest fabrics and highest quality rugs. With strategically located consigned inventory Exquisite Rugs service all of North America including a few of Dancik’s existing customers such as Stark Carpet. Exquisite Rugs have a strong focus toward online retailers such as Amazon, Overstock.com, and One Kings Lane.

Making the switch from a software system designed specifically for the rug industry, Exquisite Rugs decided to convert to D-Nav because they required a system better suited to address their consignment and inventory needs while offering flexible web services. Exquisite Rugs will be a SaaS customer with ten concurrent users.

The Dancik project management team will be working closely with Exquisite Rugs in the coming months to ensure a successful go-live.

HOUSTON, TEXAS — Empire Pipe & Supply has chosen to partner with Mincron Software Systems, a leader in providing complete ERP software solutions specifically targeted for durable goods wholesale distributors. Empire, a waterworks distributor based in Birmingham, Ala., with a second location in Tallahassee, Fla., will now run its operations on Mincron’s SmartDistributor core distribution management solution.

Mincron extends a warm welcome to all at Empire as they join the Mincron family of customers.

When you invest in new software, you know that your staff will need training to get the best from the system. Most suppliers offer expert trainers who will train your employees at your business premises. Face-to-face training is valuable: your staff are fully engaged in the training, they can question the trainer and get one-to-one support with any difficulties. However it can be hard to organise, especially if you have more than one site. As well as getting the relevant staff together, you have to find an appropriate training room, and arrange other staff to cover for them, which can be disruptive. Given this, it is not surprising that many companies are using an approach called ‘blended learning’ which supplements face-to-face learning with e-learning.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

April 2017 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a market-leading global provider of software solutions to the retail, wholesale, merchant and distribution market, has reached an agreement to acquire IQ Retail, based in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

UK headquartered KCS already provides software to 1,700 customers worldwide, offering end to end ERP solutions including Supply Chain Management, Order to Cash, Financial Management, CRM, Warehouse Management, Transport Management, Business Intelligence, ePOS and more specifically for the wholesaler, distributor, retailer and merchant sectors. The acquisition supports the company’s strategy of continued growth and follows three other acquisitions during the last 18 months including 2 in USA and another previously in South Africa.

Like Kerridge Commercial Systems, IQ Retail has been delivering Retail and ERP Solutions for more than 30 years. The company’s suite of products, currently the leading Retail POS solution in South Africa, is distributed via a channel of 160 business partners.

On completion of the acquisition, the KCS operation will provide solutions to 13,000 customers and 100,000 users in Southern Africa, KCS becomes the region’s leading provider of software solutions to this sector.

IQ Retail will continue to maintain and support its existing solutions and, in time, will introduce new benefits to its customers from the KCS portfolio such as advanced e-commerce and Cloud services along with an optional upgrade path to the established suite of KCS services and products. To further support existing customers of its K8 ERP system, KCS will look at integrating some of the solutions from the IQ Retail suite.

Ian Bendelow, KCS Group CEO, said, “As the second key strategic acquisition in Africa, this further strengthens our presence on the African continent, expands our service capabilities and product offerings. As we further our platform for growth, IQ Retail affirms and aligns with our on-going business strategy of focusing on the needs of retailers, merchants, wholesalers and distributors. Our customers will benefit from an even stronger South African based team to support our customer’s needs.

Michael Reyneke, Director of IQ Retail, added, “This acquisition by KCS allows two industry leaders to combine their resources to further strengthen service and product offerings, enabling the delivery of high performance, integrated business management solutions to our customers in Southern Africa. We believe our history, culture and client profile will propel us into the future and we look forward to enhanced offerings for our clientele.”

As Group Managing Director for KCS in Africa, Des Nangle will support IQ Retail Directors, Michael Reyneke and Chris Steyn - and their team, to ensure the benefits of being part of the larger group are available to all customers.

The automotive after-market in Kenya is fragmented and competition comes from one-branch businesses. Amex Auto have decided to invest in K8, a sophisticated ERP system, developed by Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS). K8 software will deliver the scalable technology they need as they grow from a small, family run business to a multi-branch operation. They are also planning to open 2 distribution centres later this year. The investment they have made in their team will also, they believe, provide a foundation to support their planned growth.

Established in 1988, the privately held company is led by husband and wife team, Sajni Shah and Devesh Patel, who are Co-CEOs. Sajni joined the company in 2013 and saw the potential to take the business to the next level. She moved the company head quarters from the town of Kisumu to the capital Nairobi and expanded to 4 branches. Over the same period of time, the team grew from 4 to 56.

K8 software will deliver the scalable technology they need as they grow from a small, family run business to a multi-branch operation.

“We’re ready to move from a manual system to something much more sophisticated, and the sooner, the better!”

- Andrew O’Brien, Director, MyLife Bathrooms​

MyLife Bathrooms will be using K8 software to power its bathroom distribution business, based in Newry, County Down. The basic accounting system the company was using was not providing the levels of functionality and reporting the team needed. With the imminent opening of a new warehouse in Scotland to facilitate next day delivery for the company’s Scottish retailer customers, it was time to move to a more sophisticated solution.

MyLife specialises in supplying around 120 bathroom retailers across Ireland and Scotland with premium brand sanitaryware, shower enclosures, bathroom furniture, brassware and associated products. The company was established in 2013 and employs 30 staff, including a field sales team. Director, Andrew O'Brien, said, “We supply high specification products at very reasonable prices and back this up with the highest levels of customer service.”

What is a mobile responsive website?

A mobile responsive website is one that is designed to work just as well whether it is viewed on a PC or laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device; either the layout or the content or both respond and adapt based on the size and orientation of screen on which they are presented to the viewer.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

“Using our existing system, my team can only spend 40 or 50% of their time on selling – the rest of their time is spent on administration. I'm confident that once we are using K8, we can increase selling time to at least 80%.”

- Mark Doherty, Sales Director, Waterloo​

One of the leading bathroom retailers in Ireland has chosen to use K8 business management software. Waterloo Bathrooms & Tiles was established 27 years ago and operates from a magnificent retail showroom in South County Dublin. The company specialises in the supply and installation of high-end bathrooms for the domestic and commercial markets and, according to sales director Mark Doherty, the company’s excellent customer service and attention to detail are key factors in the success of the business. “Our success has led to sustained growth, particularly from prestigious commercial projects, and this has driven us to replace our basic software package to a more advanced system that could handle logistics effectively and efficiently,” he said.

"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.

Mr Alfie Altenburger owner of Continental Cables decided to look at alternative ERP systems as their Legacy system could not support the growth of the business. Some of the important requirements were accurate forecasting, cable drum batch control, buyout management and Business Intelligence reporting. Copper cable has very high value, therefore margin control plays a big role in the business.

The K8 project team consisted of two very dedicated resources from Continental Cables, Jo-Anne Botha (Sales Manager) and Bev Main (Financial Manager). They made sure that all conversion data was ready, and on-time for the Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) consultants, and this meant that everyone could do thorough testing and training before the go-live date.

Within two and a half months Continental Cables are already reaping the benefits of K8. Mr. Altenburger said he was impressed with the dedication and industry knowledge of the KCS project team, and how easy it was for the sales team to start using the new system. Continental Cables are looking forward to using more K8 modules, in addition they are planning to open many new branches of which Bloemfontein in the Free State Province will be the first.

Tiaan Grobbelaar, Sales Manager at KCS said “We are pleased to have another customer from the wholesale cable and wire industry on board. We are looking forward to a very long and mutually beneficial relationship with Continental Cables, they can be assured that KCS and our K8 ERP will support their operations now and far into the future.”

Company History

Continental Cables was established in 2007 and from modest beginnings Continental Cables has grown into one of the largest privately owned distributors of wire and cable products in the country. We are centrally located in Alrode, Alberton area which is easily accessible from all major highways.

In our 9 years of business in the cable industry we have earned a great deal of recognition and confidence with our customers. We have a reliable and strong supplier base which has been built up on a foundation of doing business with honesty, integrity and willingness to dealing with customers more as a partner than as a third party. Specialising in all types of industrial cable and with a customer base throughout South Africa, Continental Cables service offering includes the ability to deliver cable and wire on a short lead time and at an extremely competitive cost.

As featured in January’s issues of Builders' Merchants News and Professional Builders Merchant magazines, Mark Steggall, Head of Product Management at Kerridge Commercial Systems, explains the benefits of using a modern ERP system to manage supplier rebates.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

“At the trade counter it’ll be a massive change as my team will be able to use bar code scanners and ask customers to use a digital signature pad. But, I’m also looking forward to the complete visibility K8 will give us across the business.”

- Tony Sharkey, Managing Director​, JTD Building Supplies​

A Goldman Sachs business course inspired a Huddersfield based builders’ merchant to buy an ERP system to help grow his business. “Three key steps came out of the business plan I developed on the course I followed earlier this year,” said Tony Sharkey, who set up JTD Building Supplies five years ago. “The first was to install business management software so I would spend less time on administration and the second was to start selling products on line. I’m proud to say we’ve already achieved both of these and are already well on the way to achieving the third step which we will be announcing next year.”

It’s easy to find out more about K8 and to book a demo at www.kerridgecs.com

Sterling has depreciated against the US dollar and the Euro since the referendum in June, hitting a 31 year low against the dollar in October. At time of writing, the exchange rate had climbed following hints from Theresa May that she will be looking for a transitional Brexit deal that will favour British businesses. However sterling is still comparatively weak, which presents some challenges for merchants and distributors. For example, the price of imported construction materials is predicted to increase by 3%. It also means that inflation may increase, which adds to the uncertainty we are facing.

But challenging times also present opportunities. Here are five things that merchants and distributors can do to mitigate against, and even benefit from, the economic situation.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

"At the time we needed to upgrade from our existing system to bring about a change of culture and Kerridge Commercial Systems 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 stable version is cut"

- Ian Mitchell, Information Systems Manager​, Parkers Building Supplies

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.

"Due to all our testing, the great team I had at Tilespace as well as Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), we had a very smooth Go-Live with almost zero issues."

- Bronwen Fritz, Financial Manager​, Tilespace SA

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 andfittings. They recently upgraded from K8.07 to Babbage.

November 2016 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) a global company headquartered in the UK has reached an agreement to acquire Integrity Software, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and its successful suite of products. This acquisition is a key strategic investment for KCS in South Africa and a positive development for Integrity Software.

KCS has acquired Integrity Software as part of our on-going plans to grow and provide market leading ERP and business management solutions to the distribution markets across the world. With Integrity Software, we add further solutions and expertise for our core market focus of the Distributive Trades and specifically strengthen our offering for the retail orientated Distributive trades. Furthermore, we can now offer our South African customers a payroll and HRIS solution. The companies will form one of the strongest ERP providers focused on the particular needs of the distributive and retail trades in Southern Africa.

KCS is the market-leading and award-winning provider of solutions with over 1100 distributive trade customers worldwide, focusing on wholesaler, distributor, retailer and merchant sectors. In parallel, Integrity Software has a 20-year history of delivering Retail and ERP solutions to the retail and distributive trades with a similar customer profile to that of KCS. The acquisition supports the KCS strategy of continued growth through focusing on our specific area of expertise i.e. solutions for businesses that need to Source Effectively, Stock Efficiently, Sell Profitably and Service Competitively. The acquisition of Integrity Software by KCS follows the successful acquisitions of Dancik International in July 2015, and Mincron in June 2016, both in North America.

Integrity Software will continue to maintain and support the existing Integrity Software solutions and in time will introduce new benefits to their customers from the KCS portfolio such as advanced e-commerce, mobile commerce, and Cloud services as part of an optional upgrade path and optional added functionality. Equally, KCS will introduce modules from the Integrity Software suite to their existing K8 ERP system such as Payroll Solutions to further support their existing customers.

Speaking about the acquisition, Ian Bendelow, KCS Group CEO commented, “This is key strategic acquisition for us and our first in Africa which has been an important market for us over many years. It strengthens our presence on the African continent, expands our capability and provides a further platform for growth. Integrity Software aligns with our successful business strategy of focusing on retail, trading and business management solutions for the distributive trades. We have operated in the African region from our offices in Johannesburg for some 20 years. It is a successful and important region for the KCS Group. Our customers will benefit from this acquisition by providing greater strength and depth in our South African based team to support our functionally rich solutions to meet their business goals and challenges.”
Greg Gerasimo, Managing Director of Integrity Software states, “The acquisition by KCS brings together two great companies with similar history, culture and customer profile. The combined resources will further strengthen the services we can offer to our customers in Southern Africa and I look forward to being part of the Group and leading the Integrity Software team into a new era of opportunity.”

As Managing Director for the KCS Group in Africa, Des Nangle will support Greg and the team and help to ensure that benefits of being part of the larger group are available to all our customers.

For more information, please visit our websites:

www.kerridgecs.co.za

www.integritysa.co.za

or contact:

marketing@K8.co.za

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) provides specialist software, services and support to deliver fully integrated trading and business management solutions to distributive trades customers, large and small – wherever they are in the world. Immersed in the distributive trades for 40 years, our technical experts are thought leaders in trading and management technology, and our innovative and flexible approach ensures our customers partner with us for the long-term.

Our mission is simple: to design and deliver high performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable our distributive trade customers to source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively.

It may seem that the Christmas period offers marketing opportunities primarily for retailers with consumer customers; people don’t tend to buy building, industrial or automotive supplies as Christmas presents. However there are seasonal opportunities for merchants, distributors and wholesalers too, and especially for those with a B2B ecommerce solution.

We know that these days B2B buyers expect the same levels of customer service and convenience as consumers; this means that there are opportunities to apply consumer marketing to B2B customers.  There are a number of key ecommerce days over the festive period, traditionally used by retailers, which firms in the distributive trades can adopt to their advantage.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

"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.

To find why Lawsons decided to upgrade their K8 software, read the full success story.

K8 software has been chosen by one of the UK’s fastest growing decorators’ merchants as it expands into new premises and develops its online presence.

James Taylor went to work in his parents’ wallpaper shop when he was 18 and immediately became hooked on buying and selling – particularly paint. He began targeting decorators with sales of trade paint that allowed the business to grow exponentially and move into much larger premises - that remain the company’s head office in South London. James is now the owner of the business that began trading as London Decorators Merchants in 2010. Since then, turnover has more than trebled and the company operates five branches and a successful wholesale company.

The LDM team had been using an accounting system for seven years but after the provider stopped supporting its EPOS system there were difficulties integrating with any other third party solution. “We were very happy with our old system from an accounts perspective,” said James, “but it was severely lacking in any other functionality. The main reason for us moving to K8 is so we can use one integrated system – that includes features such as CRM and credit control.”

K8 software manages sales order processing, purchasing, stock control, e-Commerce and business intelligence and its integrated financial suite means that LDM won’t need to use any other accounting software. James added, “K8 will also let us manage our stock using hand held devices and it will make processing inter-branch transfers much easier.”

As a wholesale paint supplier, LDM also need a ‘paint direct’ function to allow them to supply paint directly to customers but invoice the manufacturer. “We had a paint direct module on our old system,” explained James, “but the Kerridge Commercial Systems version looks much easier to use and also manages call offs which our old system couldn’t handle.”

James also believes he’ll be able to reduce his stock holding through K8’s efficient purchase ordering and that he’ll save resources and mistakes by only having one system for staff to learn.

K8 can be delivered through a variety of options including low cost Saas (Software as a Service) where the customer rents the software (rather than purchasing a one-off perpetual licence) and accesses it over the internet.  Alternatively companies can deploy the software, as LDM will be doing, on their own server.

We are delighted to be sponsoring the Hungerford Victorian Extravaganza for the 3rd year running. On the 9th December, local dignitaries will turn back the clock to the 1800’s and celebrate the 24th Annual Hungerford Victorian Extravaganza.

The evening will open at 5pm with music from the Hungerford Town Band and the Scottish Pipe Band. The High Street will be busy with Victorian organs, steam engines, and a variety of themed stalls. Many people will be in Victorian Dress. At 7.00pm the Grand Parade starts in Bridge Street followed by fire-works at the three Swans Hotel.