IT
TERRY HOWELL GOES DIGITAL WITH K8
In 2020 Terry Howell, an independent family timber and builders’ merchant in South Wales, partnered with Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to implement their leading ERP solution, K8.
K
8 from Kerridge Commercial Systems is a trading platform that enables merchants to manage everything from front-end sales to back-office administrative functions. Additionally, the software is designed to help merchant and distribution businesses improve their day-to- day performance with boosted profits and margins they can manage in detail. Established in 1956, Terry Howell began its life manufacturing wooden ladders before diversifying into sawmilling fencing material at their timber mill in South Wales. Since then, the business has grown to include two merchant locations and a five-acre wholesale site, supplying timber and fencing material to independent merchants across the UK. The company prides itself on quality, service and value for money.
“As the scale of our business continued to grow,’ says Martin Howell, chairman at Terry Howell, ‘we needed a way to ensure our sales and inventory processes were more efficient. That way, we could meet increased demand and improve the end experience for our customers.”
Recognising the need to streamline and improve accuracy with business management software, Luke Brown, Head of Retail at Terry Howell, says: “What really stood out to us about K8 was the scope for tailoring the system to suit our specific business needs. In addition, we were really encouraged by the knowledge and expertise of the consultancy team. Having individuals on our project who understood our industry was a huge help in the build stages, with the ability to bounce ideas off each other and share best practices on how we could get the system to work for us.”
Since implementing the system in November 2021, the business has already seen a huge change in its ability to forecast sales and stock requirements. Historically, Terry Howell had relied on handwritten sales orders and inventory processes, which was proving inefficient as the scale of the business continued to grow. Luke Howell explains, “This was a huge process change for our business, especially going from pen and paper, but our team have been phenomenal in rising to the challenge.”
And while Terry Howell has already seen improvements since implementing K8, they’re not stopping there. The business is partnering with KCS on their next project, the implementation of K8 WebPro. Scheduled to roll out later this year, K8 WebPro is a cloud-based ecommerce add-on that allows businesses to receive orders online directly into the K8 system. Supporting both B2B and B2C trading models, the system was the perfect choice for Luke and the team. “Since K8, we’ve been keen to focus on the change in consumer buying behaviour, especially online,” he highlights.
“For example, in just a quick internet search, you can find a list of a dozen companies that might be supplying timber or building materials locally. We wanted a way for us to provide our customers with a better online experience and really shout about who we are as a family business. K8 WebPro helps us do that.”
Moving to K8 has streamlined the existing Terry Howell business processes and given them a platform to accelerate their digital journey over the next year. BMJ
June 2022
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
