News

CARY, NC – December 2016 – Dancik International, a Kerridge Commerical Systems (KCS) Company, announced today that Galleher has selected K8 with Web Builder in the K-Cloud to support their strategic vision for substantial growth of their floor covering and supply business.

Founded in 1937, Galleher is the oldest floor covering distributor in Southern California with 21 locations in three states and over 325 employees. The Company is ranked among the top 5-flooring distributors in the US and is the frequent recipient of recognition from suppliers and industry associations as a thought leader and ideal partner. The Company’s dedicated employees command years of professional experience and the latest business technologies to focus on excellence in service, relationships, and value. The Company follows the values that guided Galleher in its early years. Trust, honesty and doing the right thing for the customer have secured a legacy that will last long into the future.

“The choice was obvious for us,” stated Jeff Hamar, President of Galleher. “K8 is demonstrably the best-integrated ERP software solution available today. It's been designed for the Distributor & its clear Dancik International & KCS share similar values to us.” Hamar added, “K8 will help us take the business forward to achieve greater performance and higher levels of customer service.”

Alan Cross, KCS Executive Vice President North America, stated, "We are extremely proud to be working with Galleher and delighted they chose K8. They have a rich heritage and excellent reputation for superior customer service, and we were able to demonstrate how K8 will support their vision for the future.”

K8 ePOD software allows your drivers to manage deliveries remotely. Once load planning has been completed within K8, the full manifest may be exported to the drivers HHT and they will be guided to each delivery in turn.

Read our blog post - What is delivery management software?

With full capability to confirm and amend deliveries, fail drops, capture images and a range of other sophisticated features, the driver can capture signatures and automatically complete deliveries. A signed POD is also stored within K8.

Find out more about how our K8 software can help your business. Either contact us or request a brochure via the button below.

HOUSTON, Texas — Mincron is excited to announce that one of our newest customers, Midwest Refrigeration Supply Company, has successfully gone live on SmartDistributor 12.1.

Midwest Refrigeration is a fourth-generation family owned business that has proudly served HVAC/R contactors since 1945. In addition to distributing commercial refrigeration and HVAC products, they provide in-house engineering services and rental tools. Headquartered in Traverse City, Mich., Midwest Refrigeration also has two locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; they plan to add more locations in Northern Michigan in the future.

Midwest Refrigeration’s leadership believes their new ERP system will help them achieve their strategic long-term goals of growth, streamlining inventory and improving productivity. Learn more about why Midwest Refrigeration Supply selected Mincron by visiting the News Center on our website at www.mincron.com, or by clicking http://www.mincron.com/view/article/news/564.aspx.

You can also learn more about Midwest Refrigeration at www.mwref.com

As featured in October's issues of Builders' Merchants News and Professional Builders Merchant magazines. Tony Pey, Head of Sales Engineering at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), defines the advantages of SaaS and explains how it could work for your merchant business.

"What also appealed to me about using K8 was how we could access the software via the cloud..."

- Paul Branch, Director,  Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms

Paul Branch, the owner of Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms in Bury St. Edmunds, is looking forward to Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) looking after his IT in the future - so he can get on and run his business!

Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms is an independent tile and bathroom retailer, operating from a busy retail park. A family company, Paul’s sister and son both work in the business that was established in 1986. The company serves a mix of trade and retail customers who come from across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. According to Paul, it’s the combination of very high quality service and his extensive product range that differentiates Abbeygate from the local competition.

Paul has just agreed to purchase K8, the business management system developed by KCS specifically for retailers, merchants and wholesalers of all types of building products. “Our bespoke software was getting a bit long in the tooth,” said Paul, “and updating it was going to be prohibitively expensive.”

One of Paul’s biggest suppliers also uses K8 and they had recommended he take a look at the system. He was also reassured by the fact that K8 was used extensively in the tile supply industry and he liked the idea of using a system that was designed to manage his type of business.

“What also appealed to me about using K8 was how we could access the software via the cloud,” said Paul. “We won’t have to bother about maintaining the system or having servers on the premises. I think it’s more secure working like that and means we can get on with what we do, rather than worrying about managing our hardware and IT!”

K8 is a fully integrated trading and business management solution that can be delivered to customers via a variety of traditional or cloud based options. It combines a suite of modules designed to manage sales order processing, purchasing, stock control, CRM, E-Commerce and business intelligence. Plus, Abbeygate will be able to dispense with their Sage package once K8 is installed as its integrated financial suite means there’s no need to use any other accounting software.

“K8 will interface better with Outlook, save us time when we upload customer prices and catalogues and give us additional and easier reporting capability,” said Paul. “But what I’m really looking forward to is how it’s going to release the time and effort that we used to spend looking after our old system and let us concentrate on looking after our business!”

Client Focus

• Has a reputation for high quality service and an extensive product range available
• Its aging bespoke software drove the team to look for a new solution
• Choosing a cloud based solution provided better security and saved time on system maintenance

CARY, NC – Oct 14, 2016 - 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 Tierra Sol, recently acquired by GESCO (also owner of Shnier) has fully integrated with Dancik Navigator (DNav), to help support their strategic vision for substantial growth of their floor covering distribution business.

Tierra Sol, founded in 1979, is a leading Western Canadian and U.S. Pacific Northwest based ceramics and stone distribution company. The company sources globally while servicing locally, from each of four facilities located in Seattle Washington, Vancouver BC, Calgary and Edmonton AB. Tierra Sol's customers include those in the retail, commercial and builder related channels.

Tierra Sol will become the second major operating division of GESCO, a privately held national floor covering distribution company. GESCO other operating division which is well known to the floor covering industry is Shnier. Shnier is a leading national provider of globally sourced products, value-add marketing and merchandising programs and finance, logistics & IT services. The company serves over 3,000 customers in retail, commercial and builder based markets, from each of five distribution facilities coast to coast within Canada.

Tierra Sol went live with DNav approximately six months from the point of acquisition by Shnier, “The Dancik team have been very professional & integral with the level of support and intellect they have provided us. This is a project that can take upwards of 9, 12 or 18 months, and with their assistance, we went live in a record time of 5 months which was in large part because of them.” said Doug Wilcox, Vice President of Supply Chain, Logistics & IT, GESCO.

“Dancik will help to further integrate, build and support the Tierra Sol Brand. Implementation of DNAV will benefit our customers, suppliers, and employees, to further support accelerated growth in the Canadian and US marketplace,” said Ed duDomaine, President & CEO, GESCO.

Alan Cross, Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Executive Vice President North America, stated “The Dancik team were delighted to support the GESCO acquisition integration team at GESCO. All parties worked extremely closely and diligently to ensure an on-time go live of the Dancik DNav software, and I am confident that Tierra Sol will be hugely successful as part of the GESCO family”.

For more information on Tierra Sol visit: www.tierrasol.ca

For more information on Dancik International visit: www.dancik.com

*Dancik International is a Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Group company.

CARY, NC – October 2016 - 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 Spartan Surfaces, Inc., one of the leading commercial flooring distribution and consulting companies in the United States, went live on Dancik Navigator in August subsequent to an accelerated implementation process. Spartan required rapid implementation and custom modifications to support their high growth.

“The Dancik consulting team went above and beyond, working through evenings and weekends to meet our very aggressive goal of a 120-day August launch,” said Adam Gable, Chief Financial Officer at Spartan. “As an organization, one of our core values and strategies is to surround ourselves with the best in every circumstance, and we are excited to be partnered with an industry leader that will continue to support our growth.”

Spartan took advantage of the option to access Dancik Navigator in the Cloud, greatly reducing the time required to select and install on-premises equipment. Dancik Navigator is a fully integrated business management solution designed specifically for flooring retailers, manufacturers and distributors. Sales processing, mobile data access, inventory management, business intelligence, and accounting are easy to use and fully integrated. Navigator’s modern architecture, cloud availability and mobile sales applications resonated with Spartan as they initially selected Dancik however, Spartan did require several significant custom modifications and these were delivered by the Dancik team ahead of the go-live date.

Spartan will leverage the Dancik system and services as they increase their competitive advantage throughout the United States in the commercial flooring marketplace.

“This was a tremendous example of teamwork and focus,” commented Alan Cross, Executive Vice President for Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) North America. “We had a clear objective to achieve an August go-live for Spartan. This was achieved by ensuring clarity of functional requirements and a group of people determined to succeed. I'm confident that by adopting Dancik Navigator in the Cloud Spartan Surfaces will go from strength to strength.”

For more information on Spartan Surfaces, Inc. visit: www.spartansurfaces.com

For more information on Dancik International visit: www.dancik.com

*Dancik International is part of the Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Group of companies.

HOUSTON, Texas — Putnam Pipe, an independent and locally owned company serving the water, sewer and storm water industries since 1985, recently signed a contract with Mincron executives to convert to the Mincron SmartDistributor™ core ERP solution. Putnam, a Mincron customer since 2010, has locations in Hopkinton and Taunton, Mass. President David Putnam credits the combination of his team’s experience and long-term dedication to customer service for the company’s three decades of successful operations.

Putnam’s father, Elliot Putnam, founded the company after a multi-decade career in the water and sewer utility industries. His goals were to build a business based on the principals of integrity, service and fair competition that would offer competitive pricing, product knowledge and outstanding service.

David Putnam came on board in 1986, focusing on municipal and contractor sales. He continually grew his knowledge of the business and when his father retired in 2003, David succeeded to the position of President. In addition to extensive employee knowledge and strong relationships, Putnam has capitalized on the use of the most modern technology available. After upgrading to Mincron Release 12.1, Putnam decided to take the next step and convert to SmartDistributor, as well as become a subscriber of Mincron’s new SmartCubes frequent update program, to stay current with the latest technology available.

“Mincron has provided the perfect platform to allow our business to operate seamlessly on a daily basis and grow into the future,” said Putnam. “They understand distribution, know where we are headed, and provide unparalleled support for all functions of our business. Software is their primary product, but their people really make the difference.”

Putnam users will participate in a four-hour training session with Mincron staff. The transition is a fairly simple one, with most of it centered on the differences users will experience in navigation. SmartDistributor is a complete distribution management system for customers ranging from multi-national corporations to single-location, locally owned businesses. It is tailored to meet our customers’ specific needs and easily adapt as your business grows and changes. SmartDistributor basically serves as a wholesaler’s command center, giving you the tools needed to most effectively manage, monitor and analyze all aspects of your business. Those capabilities maximize efficiency and productivity — and ultimately profitability. It is a Windows-based solution with easy point-and-click navigation and workbench-like design for users, and has an Executive Dashboard that provides immediate accessibility to critical, real-time state-of-your-business data for key management.

Mincron’s highly experienced team thrives on developing new, more efficient methods for distributor perform routine tasks. These innovations give our customers new avenues for economic growth and competitive strategies for your company’s future. Our staff operates with a “Service First” philosophy toward customers that begins in the initial planning stages and continues throughout our partnership. Customers are not just a number at Mincron. When you need support, 24/7/365, you’ll be dialing our Houston headquarters, and will speak with someone who knows you and your business. Their response time to your issue can be measured in minutes or hours — not days or weeks.

We also listen. Much of our new product development is done as the result of customer roundtables or special requests. That’s why we’re proud to say that Mincron is Distributor Driven, by Design.

As featured in this September's issue of Professional Builders Merchant magazine, Tony Pey, Head of Sales Engineering at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), explains how using multi-channel ecommerce software that is fully integrated with your ERP system delivers a more satisfying experience for your customers and makes life easier for your staff.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Established in 1977, UK Roofing & Plastic Supplies is a leading independent supplier of roofing materials, building plastics and tools. Based in Slough, the company prides itself on being able to supply everything its trade customers need – from the eaves upwards.

UK Roofing is an approved trader within Slough Borough Council’s ‘Buy with Confidence’ scheme. This means they have undergone a stringent vetting procedure and are promoted by the council as ‘a good, honest local business’.

Before deciding to implement K8 software, the UK Roofing team was using a system that was limited to invoice generation and stock management.

Managing Director and owner, Neil Price and Branch Director, Graham Gerrans, had both worked with a more sophisticated system at a previous company and felt it was time to investigate integrated systems that could also handle their purchasing, accounting and reporting.

“The time had come for us to have a system that would help us operate more efficiently and that would provide reports to help us make better business decisions,” said Graham. “We were aware of several other companies in our industry who already used K8.”

Graham looked at a number of systems and came to the conclusion that K8 was the most beneficial for UK Roofing as it was a tried and tested solution within the roofing industry and is designed primarily for use by distributors and merchants operating within the construction industry.

“We’re particularly looking forward to having a much faster system so we can speed up service at the trade counter as well as being able to process purchase orders and goods received notes more efficiently,” he said.  “But most importantly, we’ll have better visibility of all our business processes and our current status through the business intelligence suite - this will allow us to forecast more effectively.”

K8 is a fully integrated trading and business management solution already used widely by all types and sizes of companies in the roofing supply industry. It combines a suite of modules designed to manage sales order processing, purchasing, finance, stock control, CRM, E-Commerce and business intelligence. K8 is developed, provided and supported by UK-based Kerridge Commercial Systems.

"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.

"The main benefit of using K8 is that I always know where we are – all the business information I need is at my fingertips. I really can’t fault it."

- Peter Barlow, Managing Director, Barlow’s Woodyard

Barlow’s Woodyard specialises in supplying high quality timber products. Its branches in Newbury and Witney stock a huge range of fencing, gates, decking and garden features, many of which are machined or manufactured in the company’s own workshops.

Hyper Paint opened their first branch in Ophirton, Johannesburg in the early 1980’s. Since then they have grown from strength to strength, currently, supplying customers through six branches in and around Johannesburg.

They are the largest independent Dulux Paint reseller in South Africa, providing advice, paint and paint supplies to DIY customers as well as many of the leading contractors in the province. Their motto is “Good Service is Good Business,” and great customer service and the speed of the sale and delivery is key to their on-going success.

When Hyper Paint started doing research on ERP systems for the distributive industries, and in speaking to some of their suppliers, they realised that K8 should be on their shortlist of system providers. Mr Jade Peter made an enquiry, requesting a K8 demonstration, where K8’s extensive paint and multi-branch functionality was shown. K8 was weighed up against various solutions; some much cheaper than K8. However, in the end they chose K8.

Hyper Paint is currently using a manual system for cash customers and a legacy system for account sales. It is very difficult for them to have accurate stock management and visibility of stock across a network of 6 branches. Their growth strategy is also limited by the lack of integration of their current processes.

Control over all areas of the business as well as an integrated system with point of sale functionality was key to their decision. Additionally, they needed a software solution that could service and supply their customers at the same speed as their manual processes.

Because the K8 system will be hosted in the cloud and centrally accessible form all branches and head-office, Hyper Paint staff and management will have live sales data that can be easily consolidated to give an accurate view of the status of all aspects of the trade and finance areas of the business.

Hyper Paint signed up for a SAAS solution, hosted in the cloud at the Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) data centre and will be going live on the latest version of the K8 Babbage software.

Tiaan Grobbelaar Sales Manager of KCS, commented: “We are pleased that Hyper Paint selected us as their ERP provider. Replacing a system, especially one that is part manual, will not be an easy change to make. However, KCS’s industry knowledge, combined with a great solution - K8 for the distributive trades, will make the transition easier.

“Hosting in the cloud will also reduce their reliability on internal technical resources, providing peace of mind that their system is being backed up, monitored and supported by skilled technical resources and a solid SLA.”

CARY, NC – Aug 2016 – 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 Professional Flooring Supply has selected K8 with Web Builder in the K-Cloud to support their strategic vision for substantial growth of their building and flooring supply business.

Professional Flooring Supply was founded in 1977 in Fort Worth, Texas. Their commitment to providing construction professionals with the finest selection of flooring installation tools and building materials is unparalleled in the region. Professional Flooring Supply’s footprint covers Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.

Professional Flooring Supply is in rapid growth mode and will be expanding over the next few years. Deploying K8 is a vital component in support of their expansion goal of 30 branch locations by 2020. They believed K8 to be far ahead of the other ERP solutions they evaluated.

“We selected K8 for its capability to provide us with the platform necessary to support a dynamic vision for our growing business,” said DJ Lee, President, Professional Flooring Supply. “We are excited to leverage K8 in a comprehensive effort to be both a better resource to our clients and partner to the manufacturers we represent.”

Alan Cross, Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Executive Vice President North America, stated, "We are delighted that PFS selected K8 and Web Builder in the K-Cloud to support their growing business. We provide our customers with a choice of deployment options from K-Cloud to traditional on-premises deployment. PFS realized K8 and Web Builder in the K-Cloud was the best choice for them to attain their aggressive growth goals.”

For more information on Professional Flooring Supply visit: www.professionalflooring.com.

For more information on Dancik International visit: www.dancik.com

Established in 1983 as a power tool repairer, Johannesburgbased SA Tool are agents and distributors for many leading brands of power tools and personal protective equipment.

SA tool signed up with Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) for K8 ERP in 2011, the past 5 years SA Tool has grown substantially and have benefited greatly from the K8 ERP system; improved stock management, elimination of manual processes and quality support are just a few of the benefits they have received from K8. In 2014 they moved from an on premise server to the KCS Cloud platform.

SA Tool supply some of South Africa’s largest and most prestigious industrial and construction firms. Many of SA Tools customers have a requirement to call off on existing contracts, as well as get accounts information like statements at the push of a button. K8 Web Builder’s integrated customer portal and web store allows SA Tool’s customers the freedom to order, review and pay at their convenience. SA Tool benefits due to the accuracy of electronic data and a lower staff cost due to the automation and integration.

SA Tool chose K8 Web Builder for its online selling capabilities and integration to K8 and the fact that there is no third party upload into other software; K8 Web Builder is a live interface with the K8 ERP System. “The ability to maintain your own e-commerce website adds a lot of value, as business owners are not dependent on another company to make changes for them.” – Lawrence Grobbelaar, IT Manager SA Tool.

Utilizing the K8 Web Builder platform, customers in outlying areas are now able to place their own orders without having a sales representative call on them, thus making SA tool more accessible to their customers. SA Tool’s Lawrence Grobbelaar commented: “The viewing of the statements, invoices and POD online are a great benefit to the SA Tool customers as they are able to source their own documents”

Tiaan Grobbelaar, Sales Manager, KCS SA “Our K8 Web Builder is a great, constantly evolving e-commerce product that provides both Content Management and E-commerce functionalities. We are proud that SA Tool trusted us as to become one of our pilot sites. KCS will continue to develop our web-based products and our clients can look forward to a measurable ROI from their investment in K8 Web Builder.”

Benefits:

• Full real-time integration with K8
• Easy in-house maintenance of website
• Customers can source own account information and pricing
• Immediate visibility of customer orders
• Immediate access to product detail

About SA Tool:

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 renowned international suppliers, the company also has purchasing arrangements with major South African manufacturers.

www.satool.co.za

About K8 Web Builder:

K8 Web Builder is a powerful, integrated eCommerce suite. It enables you to deploy a fully integrated internet trading platform quickly and effectively.

With a comprehensive, intuitive content management system, K8 Web Builder is both functionally-rich and extremely flexible. IT provides a platform to increase the capacity of your existing resources and open up valuable new sales channels.

Using real-time information, K8 Web Builder provides complete facilities for your customers to enquire and place orders on a self-service basis. Transactions are automatically fed back into K8 to maintain data and customer records - it’s both simple and straightforward, and with no repeat keying required.

Without expensive and complex website developments, K8 Web Builder makes online trading for any type of business an easy to maintain and profitable service. By helping you to improve your customers’ buying experience, your competitive advantage is enhanced.

Leading merchant software provider, Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), has appointed Andrew Wilkinson as European Sales Director, with an initial focus on the UK.

Andrew, who has more than 20 years of sales experience in the distribution, merchant and manufacturing software industries, joins the Hungerford based company as it experiences a period of impressive organic and acquisitive growth.

He said, “I am thrilled to be joining KCS and working with such a passionate and pioneering team as they continue to develop their innovative solutions.”

Ian Bendelow, Chief Executive Officer at KCS said, “Andrew has strong organisational and commercial skills and I look forward to him playing a key role in further building relationships with our customers and creating strategies to help the company continue to grow.”

The KCS objective is to design systems and services to meet the business needs of all types and sizes of distributive company - and to work closely with them to ensure they get the very best from their investment in the software. K8 Babbage is the company’s current major software release. It can be delivered to customers via a range of flexible solutions to suit individual businesses, including the KCS Cloud or a SAAS (software as a service) model that delivers a known cost for budgeting and the seamless addition of new users and branches as the business grows.

In addition to its UK operations in Hungerford, Bourne End and Newcastle, KCS also has major facilities serving customers in Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa. In 2015, the company opened offices in North Carolina and more recently acquired Texas based Mincron Software Systems. The KCS Group now has around 800 customers, serving 6,000 locations and 80,000 users across 18 countries.

30th June 2016 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a global company headquartered in the United Kingdom, has reached an agreement to acquire Mincron Software Systems, based in Houston, Texas, and its successful suite of products. This acquisition is a key strategic investment for KCS and a welcome development for Mincron. The companies will form one of the strongest ERP offerings for the distributive trades in North America.

KCS is the market-leading and award-winning provider of solutions with over 800 distributive trade customers worldwide, focusing on wholesalers/distributors/retailers and merchants in the construction, industrial and other sectors.

In parallel, Mincron has a 30-year history of delivering ERP solutions to a similar customer profile i.e. businesses that need to Source Effectively, Stock Efficiently, Sell Profitably and Service Competitively. The acquisition of Mincron by KCS follows the successful acquisition and integration of Cary, North Carolina-based Dancik International in July 2015.

Mincron will continue to focus on product innovation, including maintaining and supporting the existing SmartDistributor product suite while providing customers access to other products and services from the KCS portfolio.

Speaking about the acquisition, Ian Bendelow, KCS Group CEO commented, “This is another key strategic acquisition for us and our second in North America in as many years.

"It strengthens our geographical presence in the North American market and provides a further platform for growth in this important region. Mincron aligns with our successful business strategy of focusing on trading and business management solutions for the distributive trades, including wholesalers, distributors, retailers, merchants and resellers.

"Our customers will benefit from this acquisition through greater strength and depth in our North American team to support our functionally rich solutions to meet their business goals & challenges.”

Wendy Berger, General Manager of Mincron stated, “The acquisition by KCS brings together two great companies with similar history, culture and customer profile. The combined resources will further strengthen the KCS brand in North America and I look forward to being part of the Group and leading the Mincron team into a new era of opportunity.”

As Executive Vice President for KCS Group in North America, Alan Cross will support Wendy and the team and help to ensure that that benefits of being part of the larger group are available to all our customers.

For more information please visit our websites:

www.dancik.com

www.mincron.com

Or contact: marketing@kerridgecs.com

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 over 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.

Grant & Stone, the 25 branch, home counties based builders’ merchant, has chosen K8 Babbage software from Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS).   Established in 1987 and consistently featured in the industry’s ‘top merchant’ league tables, Grant & Stone supplies ‘everything required to build a house – from foundations to decoration’.

“As well as K8’s breadth of functionality, the size and stability of KCS and our position as a long standing supplier to the industry were also key reasons for Grant & Stone choosing the software,” said Ian Bendelow, Chief Executive Officer at KCS. “The Grant & Stone team were also impressed and reassured by reference visits to some long standing K8 users who run similar sized operations.”

K8 is a fully integrated trading and business management solution designed for all types and sizes of merchant, wholesaler or distributor. Sales processing, stock management, CRM, business intelligence and financials are all supplied as standard, fully integrated modules.

The system’s modern, multi-channel Ecommerce software delivers a strong internet presence with full online trading facilities - another key differentiator for Grant & Stone – as were the fully integrated financials and the system’s robust rebate management functionality.

The 251 user, fully managed and hosted K8 system replaces a legacy product and will be supported by the KCS team from its UK based HQ. The company’s mission is to continually invest in the development of its core product to enable customers such as Grant & Stone to source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively.

Mat Miller, Director at Grant & Stone said, "K8 delivers all the functionality we were looking for with plenty more for us to grow in to. We were also reassured by our industry peers about the stability of KCS and its support structure. I’m confident we’ve chosen the solution that’s right for Grant & Stone as we develop our business in the future.’

Want to find out how K8 can help your business? Download a brochure today.

On Tuesday 21st June, our Director of R & D David Liddle and Account Manager Geoff Saunders attended Howden Joinery's golf day.

The event was for all the suppliers of Howdens and included breakfast, 18 holes of golf, a barbecue and a prize presentation in the evening.

Some of the holes were particularly fun. On one you could only use 2 clubs, and on another you were only allowed to use a wedge and a putter. The eventual winners were the suppliers.

CARY, NC – June 2016 – 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 selected K8 to support their substantial wholesale building materials distribution business. K8 is a fully-integrated Business Management solution for LBM distributors, wholesalers, suppliers and retailers.

Milwaukee Builders Supply was founded in 2004 and quickly grew to be one of the largest wholesale building materials distributors in southeastern Wisconsin. They have experienced many of the issues associated with using a manual system; inadequate stock control, inability to meet accounting requirements, identifying sales opportunities and general business concerns. Success and growth have brought about a need for an integrated solution to support streamlined processes and further expansion.

Milwaukee Builders Supply was introduced to Dancik International at the North American K8 product launch at the International Builders Show (IBS) held in Las Vegas, January 2016. “I was impressed with K8 from the first demo at IBS and continue to be impressed by the robust nature of the system, and the knowledge and expertise of the Dancik team. We evaluated K8 against multiple competitive products in the US market, and K8 stood out above the rest as the clear choice for us. It was obvious to me that K8 was the software we must deploy,” stated John Lambie, President, Milwaukee Builders Supply, Inc.

K8 was able to fulfill all the company’s business requirements. K8’s integrated modules include in-store sales, online sales, price and margin control, promotion management, financials, inventory management, business intelligence (BI) and customer relationship management (CRM), all provided in a fully hosted solution by Dancik International.

"Alan Cross, KCS Executive Vice President North America, stated, "It's a testament to the strength and depth of the software that enabled the MBS team to select K8 ahead of well-established North American ERP providers, and we are delighted they were able to make that decision. The Dancik team now look forward to achieving a successful implementation."

CARY, NC – May 2016 – 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 BR Funsten & Co. have agreed to license K8 and Web Builder for up to 200 users to include professional services and hosting. Dancik is delighted that BR Funsten & Co. selected K8 to support their growing building supplies distribution business across the West Coast of the United States.

BR Funsten & Co. serves as the parent company to both the Tom Duffy Company and Commercial Solutions and provides the most comprehensive group of products and services across all flooring channels. Founded in 1956, BR Funsten & Co. has grown into one of the ten largest flooring wholesalers in the nation. Since acquiring the Tom Duffy Company, the business has evolved from primarily a flooring distribution business to a leading building supplies distributor with 28 branches across California, Arizona, and Nevada.

"K8 will provide us with the capability to continue to expand the business with the confidence that we have the right system and functionality to support our business objectives and enhance our customer service capacity. K8 was a clear choice for us," stated Anne Funsten, President of BR Funsten & Co.

Alan Cross, KCS Executive Vice President of North America, said, "We are a delighted that BR Funsten & Co. has selected K8. We have worked closely together to understand their business model and in turn, demonstrate the strength and depth of the software to meet their business goals."

The project is expected to commence without delay with both BR Funsten & Co. and Dancik eager to move to the implementation phase. The Dancik project management team will be working closely with BR Funsten & Co. in the coming months to ensure a successful go-live.

For more information on BR Funsten & Co. visit www.brfunsten.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. 

For more information on Dancik International visit www.dancik.com.

This year Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) traces its roots back to 1976 and is proud to celebrate 40 years of providing innovative computer software solutions to the distribution sector.

Ian Bendelow, chief executive officer, said: ”Although computer technology has progressed dramatically over the past 40 years and business needs have changed considerably, we have remained true to our company’s ethos. Focusing on the needs of our customers, we deliver quality solutions to address their business needs and technical innovation that adds real value to their bottom line. For our customers we bring consistency, stability, longevity and innovation.

We are particularly proud to have established many long-term relationships and to have seen our customers develop and prosper. Those long term relationships, many of whom have been with us for 10, 20 and more than 30 years, really make a difference. Driven by entrepreneurial opportunities our customers are constantly innovating and it’s been our job to support those opportunities and also bring technology innovation. It is amazing to reflect on how 40 years of supporting distributors/wholesales and merchants has evolved”.

In addition to UK operations in Hungerford, Bourne End and Newcastle, the company, which employees 400 staff, also has major facilities serving customers in Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa. In 2015, KCS expanded in to North America opening offices in North Carolina. The KCS Group now has around 800 customers, serving 6,000 locations and 80,000+ users in 18 countries.

Join us for our free Automotive Open Day on 18th of May 2016 at Prested Hall in Colchester.

We will be covering a number of topics, including document scanning, mobile working, warehouse control and much more.

To read the full programme for the day and to book your place, please click the button below.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) will be attending the 2016 EW (Electrical Wholesaler) Awards on Thursday 12th May 2016 at the Park Plaza Roverbank in London.

KCS provides K8, the integrated business management system specifically designed for the electrical distribution industry.

For more information about us or the event, please contact: marketing@kerridgecs.com

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) will be attending the TTA Awards on 14th May at St John’s Hotel and Conference Centre in Solihull.

KCS provides K8, the market-leading trading and business management solution designed for the tile distribution industry.

If you would like any additional information prior to the event, please contact marketing@kerridgecs.com.

"I was impressed with the dedication and knowledge portrayed by the Kerridge Commercial Systems team."

- Paul Koster, Managing Director of Ark Trading

Kerridge Commercial Systems (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.

"Our new website, with Web Builder, is a milestone initiative for BPX."

- Managing Director, Guy Collins

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.

K8 enhances our efficiency, so that we can provide an even better customer experience

“Our focus is on service, as reflected in our ‘Create something beautiful’ slogan. K8 has enabled us to enhance this, giving us access to a wealth of information at a single click.”

- Matthew Johnson, Managing Director, Tileflair

Tileflair’s initial need was for a system to handle inter-branch trading, to replace a previous system where processes were cumbersome. It was also looking for an IT partner that really understood the tile business.

It opted for a distribution system, rather than an EPOS product, and Kerridge Commercial Systems was chosen from five short-listed suppliers. The system went live in December 1998 and, in 2007, Tileflair upgraded to K8. Then, in May 2015, it upgraded to the system’s latest version.

This week’s Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Tile & KBB Business Insight event proved a big hit with guests, who gained valuable insight into how to prosper in today’s digital age. Speakers included Phil Crowshaw from The Geeky Group; Tileflair’s Matthew Johnson and Kay Porter, from The Tile Association (TTA). Mike Beech and Paula Hayter from KCS also kicked-off and concluded the agenda, before a lively QA session that continued into lunch.

Phil Crowshaw’s presentation included essential advice on how to be found on the web, with a focus on good content marketing that “cuts through the noise.” Matthew Johnson also shared his own experiences and his plans on how to stay ahead - with help from KCS.

Guests commented that the content was “really valuable and insightful” and that “it allowed me to stop in my tracks and focus on some really important issues which are shaping our industry, right now.”

“We’re delighted with the feedback received from those that attended – and thank our guests and speakers for joining us in Leamington Spa.  We’re hoping to schedule further free Business Insight events later this year and would love to receive feedback on what guests would like to hear – and from those who’d like to share their own digital experiences,” commented Mike Beech, KCS product marketing director.

KCS is a key IT supplier to the tile and KBB industries. For more information, please contact marketing@kerridgecs.com or visit www.kerridgecs.com

"We currently have to run multiple systems to manage the various aspects of our business. With K8, I will have one version of the truth." - Hardy Spoerer, Managing Director, Electro Tech

Electro Tech has been in operation since 1989, and is a wholesaler of quality electrical products. Their head office is based in Windhoek with branches in Prosperita, and Swakopmund.

Read more to find out why Electro Tech chose Kerridge Commercial Systems.

The week of January 19-22 was a very busy week for Dancik International! Design & Construction Week^® (DCW) featured the co-location of International Builders Show (IBS) and the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show^® (KBIS). This year, DCW also included the International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) and The International Surface Event (SURFACES). This mega-event, held in Las Vegas, brought together more than 110,000 builders, general contractors, remodelers, designers, flooring professionals, as well as product specifiers from around the globe. Dancik embraced the challenge and came out on top.

The week began with the International Builders’ Show. This was our first opportunity to introduce K8 to a large crowd in the North American market. The IBS team was led by our Senior Pre Sales Consultant and K8 expert. They stayed busy talking to potential customers, demonstrating the robust capabilities of K8.

SURFACES started one day after the start of the IBS show. The SURFACES team diligently presented Navigator demos during the 3 day event. Existing customers and new prospects were impressed with Dancik, our products and how we are moving forward. Dancik was well represented as a professional and progressive software company.

We all share a sense of pride in our accomplishments during Design & Construction Week^®. Two Dancik teams, two trade shows, two new booths, new branding, a new product and more connections than we can count would have been a challenge for some but for Dancik it was a success.

Each team will continue to be busy at upcoming events and trade shows as we strengthen our influence in the flooring, tile, home décor and wholesale distribution markets.

Britain's Kerridge Commercial Systems brings K8 to America

By Craig Webb

One of Europe's biggest providers of software for the construction supply industry is using this week's International Builders' Show as the launch pad for selling its systems in the United States.

Britain's Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) will market its K8 software through Dancik International, a Cary, N.C.-based maker of software for flooring dealers that KCS acquired last year. COO Alan Cross says K8 is used by more than 700 customers in the European construction and building distribution industry, including the giant French firm Saint-Gobain. Collectively, K8 is in more than 5,000 branches and 70,000 users.

"We serve the majority of the largest suppliers in the United Kingdom," Cross said. "We naturally saw the opportunity when we acquired Dancik to bring K8 to the U.S. market. K8 is hugely successful in Europe and we're confident it's a great fit for US distributors for their wholesale and retail operations."

KCS is the biggest of several software companies seeking to enter a market dominated to date by Epicor, DMSI, Spruce, and Ponderosa; a number of dealers also have written their own computer programs over the years. Cross said KCS already is used to competing with Epicor, the No. 1 provider to U.S. dealers.

Unlike other would-be competitors that are coming in from sectors like the auto parts industry, KCS is "100% focused on the distributive industries," Cross told ProSales during a Jan. 11 interview. Its integrated programs handle in-store sales, online sales, the processing of customer orders, financials, inventory management, and customer relationship management. Dealers can get K8 as a cloud-based system or install it in their servers. KCS also can manage a dealer's entire network if desired. KCS offers K8 for both rent and on a licensing basis.

U.S. operations for K8 will be run out of Dancik's headquarters in North Carolina, Cross said. A field sales staff is being put together now, and the company has begun looking for American dealers to test the software.

Craig Webb is editor-in-chief of REMODELING and PROSALES. Follow him on Twitter at @craiglwebb or @RemodelingMag. cwebb@hanleywood.com

Guest Column: Clear strategy, execution led to successful integration
January 18, 2016

“The system has improved customer processes, operational efficiency and productivity” - Ryan Cairley, Project Manager, LSK Supplies

LSK chose our K8 system to support future growth, by implementing a cloud based system to minimise IT overheads. This has benefited them by providing:

• Greater efficiency and productivity
• Improved customer processes and service levels
• Significant gains from digital signature capture
• Real-time management information

Join us at our free Business Insight Day for the Tile, Kitchen and Bathroom industries, 23rd of February 2016. The day will be held at Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa.

We will be covering a number of topics to help you make the most of your business, all presented by industry experts. Gather tips and techniques to make the most of web, social media and your customer data. Hear how TileFlair have developed and grown their business.

We are pleased to announce that we are now members of the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF). The IAAF started trading in 1930 as the only trade association for the automotive aftermarket. Their aim is to “promote all aspects of the aftermarket and support every part of a member’s business and provide beneficial services.”

We are looking forward to working with the IAAF and all its members.

We are delighted to announce that we will be attending   Automechanika Birmingham on the 7^th – 9^th June 2016 at the NEC Birmingham stand 11C2.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) provides K8, the market-leading trading and business management solution designed for automotive distributors, part suppliers and motor factors.

If you would like any information prior to the event please contact our Automotive specialist, Mark Darley - Mark.Darley@kerridgecs.com

At the flagship event at the Leeds United Conference Centre, Howarth Timber set up a live K8 system linked to their remotely-hosted server. Customers who attended the ‘Trade Day Bonanza’, were able to buy from a specially-created and priced catalogue of 1000+ products and either collect them on the day, or have them delivered by their local Howarth branch.

Successful planning and execution

Key to the event’s success was the support from Howarth’s suppliers, who not only provided an impressive showcase exhibition for visitors, but arranged for stock to be delivered to Elland Road especially for the day, essentially on a sale or return basis. Paul Cornford, Group IS Manager, said, “This was a major project with lots of preparatory work for our branch team to set up the ‘event branch’, but from an IT perspective, everything ran perfectly. Although we had a 4G back-up facility, which was thoroughly tested in advance, connections to our hosted server worked very well throughout the event. Our sales counter terminals and the Wi-Fi terminals located around the exhibition area delivered excellent and seamless performance that was easily comparable with our branch operations. In short, we have proved that K8 can be used in pop-up shop environment – a reusable model for the next time.”

Commercial success

The event, held on the 13^th November, was attended by more than 1,200 trade and retail customers. Throughout the day, there was a real buzz in the conference centre, the supplier stands were kept busy and clearly the special offers proved very attractive. There was plenty of advice on hand from the suppliers’ staff and the Howarth team, manning the adjacent Wi-Fi terminals, completed customer orders for collection or delivery. For customers without an account, credit card facilities were provided with PIN machine connections.

Kerridge Commercial Systems CEO, Ian Bendelow, said, “We were delighted to support this landmark event for Howarth Timber - the first time that K8 had been used on such a scale in a ‘pop-up’ shop environment.  Our team that attended confirmed that K8 ran very well - all credit to Howarth for setting things so successfully, managing the complex logistics and providing a great opportunity for their customers and suppliers alike.”

Howarth online

In addition to the event’s trading operations, Howarth also used the opportunity to showcase its fully responsive online store which, integrated with K8, is growing in popularity amongst customers. Marketing Manager, Neale Brewster, said, “Our online store, launched in the Spring, is designed to complement branch operations - meeting the needs of customers who might want to shop outside of opening hours or merely to order online for fast collection. It’s proving to be a very important facility and although we continue to maintain personal contact with our customers, there’s a growing need to offer 24/7 access to stock and self-service operations.” 

About Howarth

Celebrating 175 years of trading in 2015, the Howarth Timber Group has grown to provide not only the widest range of products, but expertise, service and knowledge that can be relied on. Now the UK's largest privately-owned timber company, its origins can be traced back to 1840 when it commenced trading as Hudson & Co. Over the years the Howarth Timber Group has expanded from a one man company to an employer of more than 1,000 people specialists who know the industry inside out.

Today, the Howarth Timber Group encompasses a network of 29 timber and builders' merchant branches geographically spread across the country, complemented by dedicated manufacturing divisions supplying class-leading windows and doors and highly specialist timber engineering products and services. The group has achieved Chain of Custody certification covering all divisions, proving compliance with government specifications for timber sourced from legal and well-managed sources. The accreditation also confirms that the company meets the requirements of the construction industry's independent third party audit organisations.

Key Facts

• 175^th Anniversary event required set up of special ‘event’ branch
• Catalogue of 1,000+ products created
• Stock delivered, booked in and ready for sale
• Communications links thoroughly tested in advance
• Systems “performed perfectly”

We are delighted to be attending the annual IAAF Awards Dinner at the ICC, Birmingham on the 17^th December and are looking forward to an enjoyable evening with colleagues and companies from across the automotive industry.

The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation represents the largest number of parts distributors and suppliers within the independent automotive aftermarket. The IAAF Awards Dinner follows on from the IAAF conference – the automotive aftermarket’s largest industry event.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) supplies the leading trading and business management software, K8, designed for automotive distributors, part suppliers and motor factors. Attending on the night on behalf of KCS will be Mark Darley and Paula Hayter. If you would like any information prior to the event please contact Mark - Mark.Darley@kerridgecs.com

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) are delighted to be sponsoring the Hungerford Victorian Extravaganza for the 2^nd year running. On the 11^th of December, local dignitaries will turn back the clock to the 1800’s and celebrate the 24^th 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.

For more info visit: http://www.hungerfordchamberofcommerce.co.uk/victorian-extravaganza/

Dancik International, a US-based Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) company, recently hosted their 2015 CONNECT user conference at The Cary, North Carolina. With more than 100 delegates representing nearly 50 customers, CONNECT 15 was a great success by every measure.

CONNECT 15 was used to introduce KCS to the Dancik customers and to share product strategies. Customers took the opportunity to play an active role in the event by providing crucial feedback both individually and as a group, networking with other Dancik Customers and, most importantly, having some fun along the way!

Mitch Dancik, founder of Dancik International, opened CONNECT 15 with the rationale behind the recent acquisition of Dancik by KCS. This was followed by an introduction to Ian Bendelow (KCS CEO): Ian outlined the history of KCS, their market profile and their typical customer base.

The two day event comprised a series of presentations, breakout sessions and demonstrations. Speakers and topics included; Alan Cross (KCS COO) who presented what Dancik have delivered over the past 12 months and their future plans, including a published and accessible roadmap via the Web and the potential to introduce other KCS Products into the Dancik portfolio, such as Web-Builder, K-Print and an interface to K8 GL financials.

Mark Mashewske shared the Dancik product roadmap and a prototype of the new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) product. David Anderson and John Gulas highlighted ways customers can save money and run a more efficient warehouse and Marie Sutherland encouraged attendees to consider if they’re leaving money on the table by not fully leveraging their existing technology investment.

The highlights of the programme were Dancik customers sharing their success stories. LuAnn Doyle from Ohio Valley Flooring gave advice about implementing Navigator.  George Young from TranSouth Logistics talked about their success with Integrated Warehouse Management System (IWMS).  DJ Lee from Professional Flooring Supply shared his experience with the benefits of using Sales Portal. Jeff Dudzik from Virginia Tile shared tips for encouraging a culture that embraces change and drives for operational improvements.

An extremely popular event was The Navigator Order Challenge! Delegates could compete against each other to post the fastest time to place an order through Navigator. Congratulations to Tina Boyle from Louisville Tile Distributors who won the challenge, entering her order in less than 30 seconds!

“At Dancik we are continually looking to build our relationships with our customers, developing our solutions and services in line with their needs. Customer conferences, like this one, help us to facilitate that. If our customers are going to take time out of their extremely busy schedules, it was vital that their interests were at the heart of the event. I believe this factor, combined with the desire by our customers to maximise the opportunities and potential of their IT investment, led to the fantastic turnout and all-round success of the event,” said Mitch Dancik.

This year's TTA Tileman's Lunch will be held at Sartoria in Savile Row and will be taking place on Wednesday 9th December in London. Adrian Cannon will be representing Kerridge Commercial Systems at this event.

If you would like to get in touch  prior to the event you can contact Adrian directly by using the email address below:

Adrian Cannon: Adrian.Cannon@kerridgecs.com

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is pleased to announce that Elta Automotive have decided to migrate their K8 system to a KCS hosted service.

Elta is a major component distributor based in the West Midlands and holds the UK licence for the renowned Lucas Electrical brand. Established in 1993, Elta supplies motor factors and trade customers across the globe, operating from its large, central warehouse in Coleshill. The company’s stockholding includes in excess of 5.5 million components and a product range of over 15,000 lines.

KCS hosted service offers customers 99.5% availability in centralised data centres, with KCS performing all system administration and management including data backup and restore.

Leading the project management from Elta, Stuart Poole commented “We were keen to move to a hosted solution to improve our disaster recovery capability. It also means that we don’t need to worry about maintaining the hardware, leaving us to focus on more strategic IT initiatives.”

Stuart also commented on the affordability of the solution “Once we factored in all of the direct and indirect costs of maintaining a server, we realised that there wasn’t a major increase, yet we would be getting much better service and level of business continuity.”

KCS provides a full-range of hosted and managed services, from hosting a customer’s own hardware, all the way through to providing a full SaaS offering. Many of KCS’s customers are moving to the cloud and the majority of new customers are now opting for SaaS where their K8 software and all hardware can be paid for monthly by the number of users. See our website for more details.

We are pleased to announce that Kerridge Commercial Systems are now members of the Timber Buying Group (TBG). Founded in October 2013 it is the industry’s first category focused purchasing initiative. TBG works with a number of partners to provide members with support and advice beyond the purchasing. We are looking forward to developing strong partnership with TBG and its members.

More about TBG here.

More about K8 here.

This year's Builders' Merchants Awards for Excellence will be held in London's Lancaster Hotel on 20 November 2015. James Harmer and Adrian Cannon will be attending what promises to be another exceptional event by the team at Builders’ Merchants News magazine. They will be representing Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), which offers K8, a fully integrated business management and trading solution, used by many of the leading building supplies merchants.

If you have any questions prior to the event you can contact Adrian and James directly by using their email addresses below:

Adrian Cannon: Adrian.Cannon@kerridgecs.com

Paula Hayter: Paula.Hayter@kerridgecs.com

They look forward to seeing you there!

Read more about the event here: http://www.merchants-awards.co.uk/

Nominate here: http://www.merchants-awards.co.uk/enter-now

We are delighted to be attending The Build Show (part of the UK Construction Week 2015), which will take place 6^th - 8^th October 2015 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. We will be joining more than 1000 exhibitions and 55,000+ building and construction industry contractors and professionals. Adrian, James and Paula will be ready to answer your questions about our award-winning ERP System.

Return of The Great K8 Order Challenge

Once again we will be running “The Great K8 Order Challenge”. Anyone is welcome to come and visit our stand B4/10 to have a go. The task is simple – raise and complete a 4-line cash sale as quickly as you can. The prize will be revealed at our Stand on the first day of the event. At NMBS Exhibition in April this year our winner walked away with a magnum of Moet & Chandon, you can read more about it here

Read more about UK Construction Week here.

Read more about K8 here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

This year Paula Hayter and James Harmer will be attending BMF Members Day (Wednesday 16th - Thursday 17th September).

In their own words: “we are very excited to come back and catch up with the current and new BMF Members. This event is always brilliantly organised and provides great insight into the industry which we are very proud to serve!”.

For more information about the event and speakers please visit: http://www.bmf.org.uk/members-day-2015/

If you have any questions for Paula or James before the event about how we may be able to support your IT needs, you can contact them directly using the email addresses below:

James Harmer: James.Harmer@kerridgecs.com

Paula Hayter: Paula.Hayter@kerridgecs.com

Bolt & Nut Centre, owned by Brandon and Daphne Fisher is headquartered in Pietermaritzburg, the capital city of Kwa-Zulu Natal. They have branches in Port Shepstone and Johannesburg and specialise in supplying tools, bolts, washers, anchors, chemicals and abrasives.

Bolt & Nut Centre have over 7000 line items and are Pietermaritzburg’s largest and most comprehensive stockists of fasteners. They supply to the Construction, Engineering, Motor, Electrical and Farming industries as well as to small enterprises, Home DIY enthusiasts and hobbyists.

Mr & Mrs Fisher first spoke to Kerridge Commercial Systems back in 2014 and at the time decided to investigate other cheaper solutions in SA, but they soon realised K8 is the correct ERP to grow their business, so they signed up and are now part of the KCS family.

Bolt & Nut Centre is currently using a system with separate servers in each location. Consolidation of data is a manual and time consuming process, often resulting in inaccurate financial figures. The KCS award winning K8 product will be implemented on a central server, providing live sales data that can be easily consolidated to give an accurate view of the status of all aspects of the trade and finance areas of the operation.
They have signed up for a SAAS solution, hosted at the KCS data centre and will be going live on the latest version of the K8 software; Babbage named after the “father” of computers Charles Babbage.

Brandon Fisher, Owner of Bolt & Nut Centre said: “We decided to go with K8, as we need the correct system to handle our future growth plans. We are planning to open more branches in all provinces in SA, so having a central, tried and tested solution with consolidated visibility across all branches is very important for us”

Des Nangle, Managing Director of KCS SA said: “I am very pleased that Bolt and Nut Centre have re-evaluated our K8 proposition, and I am confident that they will realise a return on investment soon after going live. Our hosting SAAS option provides a transparent cost model for growing companies, and is also indicative of our faith in the K8 product in a market where revenues are dependent on having customers stay on your platform for longer.”

Company History

Bolt and Nut Centre was purchased in 1987 by Ted and Louisa Nutting who built the business from humble beginnings into the strong and successful business it is today. They achieved this success by offering clients good honest service that they could depend on. Ted’s philosophy was to always put the customer first and deliver fast friendly service to every customer, no matter how big or small their purchase.

This dedication to superior service has become the trademark of Bolt and Nut Centre.

Today the company is owned by Brandon and Daphne Fisher. They purchased the business in 2011 and have continued Ted and Louisa’s tradition of service excellence.

“We’ve been in the industry for over 25 years we have very good relations with a considerable number of suppliers and our staff have the technical expertise to correctly advise our clients on their requirements.”

www.boltandnut.co.za

23rd July 2015: Today Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) a global company headquartered in the UK, has reached an agreement to acquire Dancik International, a US headquartered company, and its successful suite of products. This acquisition is a key strategic investment for KCS and a welcome development for Dancik, as together, the two companies will form one of the strongest ERP offerings for the distributive trades.

Currently KCS offer the market-leading and award-winning K8 ERP system underpinning over 700 distributive trade customers world-wide, including builders’ merchants, automotive parts distributors, food wholesalers, electrical distributors and many other distribution verticals. Dancik International have a suite of products including their Dancik Enterprise System (DES) with Navigator, an ERP solution for the flooring, tile, stone and home décor industries.

Going forward, KCS will be promoting both their existing products and the Dancik product range, each targeted at their core vertical markets, in line with the group strategy of providing deep domain expertise and fit. The acquisition of Dancik also provides an exciting platform for the launch of K8 into the US and Canadian markets.

Speaking about the acquisition, Ian Bendelow, CEO of KCS commented “This is a key strategic acquisition for us. It immediately gives us presence in the North American market and a platform for growth in this important region. Dancik aligns with our successful business strategy of focusing on trading and business management solutions for the distributive trades, including wholesalers, distributors, retailers, merchants and resellers. Fundamentally both Dancik and KCS offer customers value by bringing functionally rich solutions that are vertically focused to the needs of our customer; continuous development that is highly responsive to our customers evolving market; and our people who have deep knowledge of our customer’s vertical market. Dancik and KCS are a great match.”

Mitch Dancik, Chairman of Dancik International commented “The acquisition by KCS brings together two great companies with the desire to deliver focused solutions to the distribution market. The combined resources of the two companies will provide a critical mass for us growing sales and market share of all our products. We are also really pleased to have found a company with matching values and the same level of ambition.”

Dancik International will operate as an independent business unit of Kerridge Commercial Systems and will retain its name, although with a new brand to emphasise the synergy with KCS.

For more information, please visit our websites: www.kerridgecs.com and www.dancik.com

Or contact: marketing@kerridgecs.com

Download Press Release

Two day conference provided great insights to KCS Customers

The 2015 Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) Customer Conference provided delegates with a diverse and stimulating programme covering the latest in the company’s software solutions and more. With briefings and presentations on a range of the latest products and service initiatives, the conference focussed on how KCS customers could add value to their businesses using IT, both strategically and tactically. The company’s technology partners were well represented in the partners’ lounge with the opportunity to meet Cognito, GenerateUK Digital Marketing, Interoute, The Logic Group, OCSL, Oracle and PHD Mail.

The highlight of the conference - a two day event for the first time, was the introduction of the latest K8 release – named K8 Babbage. Delegates also learned more about Web Builder – the company’s integrated electronic trading application.

Company updates

Some significant developments in the company’s support and training provisions were announced.

In particular, COO Alan Cross said that his team will be focussing more on reducing the need for customers to make support calls. “We are confident that by working together, a combination of training and extending knowledge, our customers will not only be able to gain more value from their systems but also make fewer support calls”.

Mike Beech, Product Marketing Director, brought delegates up to date with the work of the Customer Advisory Board. Introduced in 2014, the CAB has already proved to be a valuable resource in delivering ideas and specific user requirements into the product development cycle.

The first day’s opening session also included a review of the technologies that support KCS’s cloud and hosting services. A growth area for the business with an increasing number of customers making the switch away from on premise servers. Being able to more focus on the business – means less time spent on system management.

Ready for the future

Tom Richardson, Product Manager, introduced K8 Babbage to the conference. Continuing K8’s progressive and evolutionary path, this latest version has been enhanced in several key areas. Consolidating a number of previous releases, over 180 enhancements have been made in a programme that has involved over 1,800 QA tests and checks. Notable changes include browser client functionality – enabling specific enquiry functions to be accessed via any device on the move. An improved hire management application has been introduced, together with superior graph and charting capabilities, and additional facilities to handle returns and tools to streamline user management. An integral part of the Babbage programme, KCS has introduced a number of tools to help customers upgrade to this latest release – notably from K8.07 and K8.09 platforms.

Customer insights

Automotive parts distributor FPS (fpsdistribution.com), a KCS customer since the early 1990’s, implemented K8 Babbage in February and became the first customer to go live on the release. Jonathan Eden, Head of Business Systems at FPS, presented the upgrade experience: how the project was initiated, the rationale behind it and the process through to go live which involved 380 users across 20 branches. In a break-out session on day two, Jonathan and the KCS FPS project manager, explained the process in detail and how teams from both companies delivered a successful project.

Continuing the customer experience theme, now a regular conference feature, Stuart Baker, Training and Implementation Manager for SIG, talked about the implementation of K8 as a new user. Focussing on the K8 Delivery Management applications, Stuart explained how installing K8 needs to be a change management exercise. He referred to the importance of taking people on the journey, appreciating the impact of the process and system has on all stakeholders. Guest speaker for the evening reception and dinner was best-selling author, presenter and business guru Geoff Burch. Entertaining and thought-provoking, Geoff delivered an informed perspective on topics drawn from his considerable international experience, with a focus on customer service and managing the overall customer experience.

Engaging Breakout Sessions

Day two of the conference comprised a programme of break-out sessions which ensured that the event truly had something for everyone. There was more detail about K8 Babbage – including the financial suite. Delegates could also take on-board the latest K8 developments in reporting, data warehousing, business intelligence, rebates and special pricing facilities. Web Builder, the integrated ecommerce application, was covered by Lawsons’ (lawsons.co.uk) own implementation experience and a technical overview by KCS specialists. A meet the ‘K8 Experts’ group, representing all key areas of the system, was on hand to talk about any specific issues or concerns on a one-to-one basis. A series of sessions, delivered by KCS partners, briefed delegates on WAN solutions, SEO, ecommerce, mobile proof of delivery and EFT systems.

The conference also embraced the needs of customers from the manufacturing and field engineering sectors. The K8 Enterprise solution, which is used in a wide range of diverse industries, featured in a series of sessions focussing on business intelligence, call logging and its field service mobile app. Customer experiences covered shop floor data capture, workflow management, dashboard facilities and ecommerce functionality.

Summing up, CEO Ian Bendelow said, “Our annual customer conference has become a flagship event in our calendar. Each year, we strive to make the event as beneficial as we possibly can, not only for our customers, but also our technology partners who play a key role in meeting our customers’ ever-changing requirements. Much more than an opportunity to share how we are investing in products and services for the future, bringing everyone together also creates a stimulating environment. Open discussion leads to ideas being generated which is exciting and rewarding for everyone.”