Devant Designs, a family-run tile supplier based in Hereford, is expecting to benefit from considerable time savings across its business with the implementation of K8 Trader. The 35-year-old company identified that the manual processes it previously relied upon were no longer sustainable, so went in search of ERP software with sector-specific functionality to automate its core business functions.
Partner Dene Evans explained that it was the flexibility of K8 Trader, and the strong market reputation of Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), that made it stand out from other ERP software. “There’s a lot of options out there, but it was important for us to choose a product from a company that’s familiar with our industry.”
It was the breadth of functionality offered by K8 Trader that made it appealing. “The software will cover simple things such as descriptions and stock numbers, right through to the size of the product, quantities per box and how this relates to the square meterage – everything is already programmed for us so once the data has been uploaded, it’s ready to go,” Dene noted.
The company has also opted to source its hardware from KCS. This way, Devant Designs can rest assured that its new ERP system will be compatible, and that any issues that arise will be swiftly handled by KCS. It also meant the business owners haven’t invested valuable hours in researching the right hardware for their needs.
In fact, time savings are one of the main reasons Devant Designs needed a new ERP system. Many processes are currently being carried out manually, but by automating core areas of the business, Dene believes they can cut down on human error, improve efficiency and ultimately provide even better levels of customer service. Over-the-counter sales and account invoicing are just two areas where this will be most prominent in the early days of using the software.
“Being a family business, we pride ourselves on offering a personalised customer service. K8 will certainly help us maintain that high level of service.”
Looking to the months ahead, gaining greater visibility of historic sales and improving stock control will deliver major advantages. Being able to perform financial analysis with just a few clicks is another very important feature that will make operations easier further down the line.
Devant Designs is due to go live on K8 Trader in the near future, and there are already high hopes that the time efficiencies will be considerable. “The software should cut our manual work by about 40%,” Dene revealed. “Multiply that up and we will be saving a huge number of hours across our entire business. Investing in K8 Trader was an obvious choice for us.”
For more information on K8 Trader, visit www.kerridgecs.com.
