MKM Building Supplies

Success Stories

Builders Merchants

Customer: MKM Building Supplies

What we did: Implemented K8

Challenge

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

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

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

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

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