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HUWS GRAY COMMITS TO BORDER’S COUNTERCT SYSTEM
Following its game-changing acquisition of Ridgeons, builders merchant Huws Gray has decided where its best software system interests lie.
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cquisitive builders merchant Huws Gray has announced the decision to continue operating industry leading CounterAct Software
from its long-standing partner, and supplier, Border Merchant Systems. The decision comes following a review of systems, in the light of the company’s high-profile acquisition of fellow merchant Ridgeons.
After reviewing both CounterAct and Ridgeons’ incumbent software system, Huws Gray decided to commit to CounterAct for the long-term. The rollout of CounterAct into Ridgeons is already under way. The acquisition of Ridgeon’s provided an ideal opportunity for Huws Gray to review its IT infrastructure and systems. Huws Gray has been using dedicated merchant software from Border Merchant Systems since 1998 and currently runs CounterAct, (rel 2-7B) throughout its branch network.
CounterAct’s functionality, stability, and the close working relationship with Border, have been important components in Huws Gray’s growth to date. However, with such a large acquisition, Huws Gray needed to be sure that its current software system could support such a sudden increase in size and be fit to support its continued growth plans.
Mike Owen Jnr, Head of IT at Huws Gray commented; “Whilst we have a great working relationship with Border, it was really important for us to review our software and take a hard look at what was the right platform for us moving forward. “It’s no secret that we have ambitious growth plans, so our IT system needs to be able to support that. When we reviewed the systems, we were delighted to see that the way we operate CounterAct is extremely efficient relative to other products. The administrative overhead we need to operate our fundamental business processes appears to be significantly less than others, that means we are using our technology more effectively. “We are happy to commit to Border and will
be making investments in both the CounterAct product and integrated e-commerce platform. We are confident that Border is the right partner for us moving forward.”
Phil Davies, Commercial Manager at Border Merchant Systems said; “We are delighted that Huws Gray has chosen Border as its long-term merchant system partner. All the team here are committed to continuing to provide Huws Gray with the high level of support required to help its evolution. We will be working closely together to develop both
CounterAct and our service offering to meet Huws Gray’s evolving requirements. Furthermore, it is good news for all our customers and staff that the largest independent merchant in the UK has decided that Border and CounterAct are best placed to help them grow.”
DOCUMENT IMPROVEMENTS MAKE IT TO THE BORDER
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order Merchant Systems has made a number of improvements to CounterAct’s document management facilities.
The secure storage and retrieval of paper records is a headache for many businesses. Companies have to keep documentation for audit and tax purposes. Storing paperwork not only takes up valuable space, but the time taken to both file and retrieve documents when required is non-productive. To help with this, Border has made a number of enhancements to its CounterAct Software to make it easier for merchants to scan and store all types of documents. All
financial documents generated by CounterAct are stored as a matter of course. The latest CounterAct issue allows users to automatically email stored proof of collection or delivery (POC’s and POD’s) with ease and efficiency. POC’s and POD’s are stored with digital images of signatures. These can then be emailed as an inclusion with an invoice run with preferences set by an individual customer. Additionally, cash receipts can be sent as an email from the trade counter instead of producing a paper copy.
Other developments include the linking of documents. This allows users to securely store and retrieve accounts forms, photos of
deliveries, copies of customer orders, drawings and contracts. These documents can be linked in a number of places in CounterAct including a customer account, customer order or a nominal ledger account.
Phil Davies, Commercial Manager at Border stated: “These developments should really benefits our customers. To be able to efficiently store relevant customer and supplier information in one place should hopefully make life easier. The ability to automatically produce a POC or POD should help reduce account queries, improving the time an invoice gets paid, and ultimately improving cash flow.”
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net June 2019
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