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Above left: Apps have transformed the way businesses operate PHOTO: KCS Above right: Combine AI with industry PIM databases and you potentially have an exceptionally powerful tool PHOTO: TEN-25
“It is growing, but sadly not at the pace that it really should,” said James Mitchell, managing director at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS).
“The merchant sector has historically been slower than the retail sector in respect of adopting new technology, but has been way ahead in terms of building relationships and delivering great customer service,” he continued. “As more merchants are seeing the benefits that this new digital technology can bring in respect of driving greater efficiencies and enhancing the service they offer, not to mention the sustainability benefits to the business, we do see a positive trend towards adoption. Using mobile devices and apps in our daily lives is now very much the norm, we have seen the recent pandemic hasten the adoption across all generations, so it is a natural progression that its use will extend to the workplace. “However, the good news is that the up-
take of Cloud computing continues apace and this does underpin the deployment of digital technologies, so it is moving forward. Digitisation not only introduces many efficiencies into the business, it also helps drive sustainability initiatives so it has an important part to play as we strive for carbon neutrality across the construction industry by 2050.” Adam Lee, sales manager UK distribution at Epicor agrees that the transition to ecommerce trading is still an ongoing process for the timber industry.
“It’s still quite a traditional industry in the sense that many suppliers prefer to host customers on bricks-and-mortar premises and with timber being a very tactile product,
customers usually want to see what they’re buying first-hand,” he said. “As a result, we’ve seen some merchants be slow to take up the switch to ecommerce. “However, a significant number of timber merchants are interested in implementing ecommerce in some capacity, whether that’s using it for full trading or adopting an ERP system to act as a portal for account and data management,” continued Mr Lee. “This is why it’s so important for companies across the timber and building supply sector to work with an ERP partner that knows their industry inside and out, that can support them throughout the entire implementation process — from buying to go-live. It’s then that we’ll see a ripple effect across the industry and ecommerce trading begin to soar.” “I think businesses are a lot further along than they were,” agreed Ian Oldrey, managing director at Ten-25. “We are seeing a lot more of our customers taking on ecommerce sites for example, starting to extend out to linking in to other systems – couriers and payment systems and things like that – and you need to have a system in place in order to connect up to the rest of the digital world. We are starting to see more of that activity, which is good. “We have taken on customers over the last year who have come from either literally paper-based orders or from trying to use a financials package that doesn’t really cut it as a timber trading system, so they have outgrown it,” continued Mr Oldrey. “There is digital transformation in terms of going from zero to something and there is also digital evolution where you start to get better tools that are a better fit for how your
business trades and therefore gives you more information and insight at the back end of it.” Insight and information were definitely the watchwords during the supply and demand problems of the pandemic years, with ERP systems helping merchants track rising costs and set prices accordingly.
When demand fell, supply eased and prices dropped, a new set of challenges arose, with merchants sitting on expensive stock. Again, ERP systems have helped merchants navigate their way to preserving as much margin as possible.
The software has had other uses, too. “Customers can use Merchanter to find out where they can get extra business from,” said Mr Oldrey. “Key performance indicators (KPIs) show which are your active customers and, more importantly, which are your inactive ones – so people who have spent with you in the past few months that haven’t spent with you more recently. You might want a broader brush marketing approach to those dormant customers to say ‘we’re here and we’d love to help you’. “
“Supply chain volatility, inflation and staff shortages remain three of the biggest challenges facing the timber industry,” added Epicor’s Adam Lee. “Our goal has always been to help our customers grow in the face of adversity. For many of our timber trade customers, this means bringing tools and software onboard that enable them to increase their output without having to completely overhaul their existing infrastructure, systems, and talent.
“With ecommerce increasing as a platform for trade, a lot of our customers have a dded features to their ERP systems that ►
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2023 | TTJ
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