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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

PetShop.co.uk Grows 50 Percent Year-On-Year With NetSuite

PetShop.co.uk, a subscription-based pet supply store, has grown from a family-run business to one of the largest online pet shops in the UK with NetSuite. With NetSuite, PetShop.co.uk has been able to scale its critical business systems as it has rapidly grown in the UK, diversifying its services and expanding internationally into France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Nordic region. The company now stocks over 10,000 products and all major brands of pet food and supplies.


Started by Adam Taylor and his now-wife Lexi Taylor in their London home in 2009. “In 2010, as we started to scale, we set out to find business software that would support our entrepreneurial spirit and allow us to focus on our growth,” said Adam Taylor, CEO, PetShop.co.uk. “As we have grown, NetSuite has always helped us punch above our weight and stay true to our promise of saving customers’ time when buying pet food and supplies."


NetSuite has enabled PetShop.co.uk to increase efficiencies and control across financial, supply chain and marketing operations by eliminating manual and time-consuming processes and providing a real-time, consolidated view into key business data. By streamlining order management, invoicing and supply chain operations, NetSuite is helping PetShop.co.uk tap into the rising demand for subscription-based services, a market expected to be worth £1 billion by 2022.


In addition, NetSuite’s marketing platform, Bronto, has helped PetShop.co.uk personalize the customer experience and achieve retention rates of up to 80 percent, while NetSuite’s OneWorld functionality enables seamless currency calculations and foreign language translations direct from the platform.


For more information, please visit the NetSuite News page.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.


For 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp
Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.



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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Salem Distributing Company Improves Pipeline With Tour de Force

Salem Distributing Company is based in Winston-Salem, NC. It is an employee-owned company with sales in 39 countries, providing services, equipment, supplies, technical expertise and support for four distinct industries: Flat Glass and Mirror, Stone, Advanced Surfacing Materials and Vision.


Says Diane Luter, IT Director at Salem: “In Tour de Force CRM our company is divided into two major parts – Supply Sales and Machine Sales. Tour de Force CRM (TDF) has really helped us to document our machine pipeline. Prior to TDF, quotes were entered for a machine in our ERP system with no system in place for tracking that opportunity. Management’s only recourse was simply to call the sales rep and ask “Where are we with this quote?” Consequently at any point in time we did not have a firm grip on what was happening in our machine pipeline. Tour de Force CRM has changed all that. Our salesreps are now logging all aspects of a machine quote in an opportunity record."


Learn more on the Tour de Force news page.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.


For 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp
Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.



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Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Ark Trading Improves Stock Forecasting With Kerridge

Ark Trading was established in 1980 and is one of the oldest suppliers to the building trade in Windhoek Namibia. Paul Koster bought the business in late 2015, and wished to start operating the business in January of 2016 on a new ERP system. This meant that the KCS team had to work under time constraints to configure the system. They pulled it off, however, and the K8 system was live in the first week of business.


Risks were mitigated due to Ark Trading:
  • Using the standard K8 printing templates, so minimum time was spent on setup and testing
  • Allocating a strong internal team designated to the project
  • Having strong internal buy-in, and support from the staff for the new system
  • Providing accurate master file and product data, with all relevant required information, e.g., PAC (product analysis codes), branch files and supplier details gains and benefits
As a result of the K8 ERP implementation, Ark Trading has realized the following efficiencies and benefits:
  • Elimination of manual stock back-orders, more controlled and automated
  • More efficient stock forecasting, improved lead times and estimates
  • Able to manage direct deliveries of bulk building materials
  • Better Customer service
  • Better Stock tracking/management
  • Better reporting, managing by exception
Learn more about Kerridge K8 through the Kerridge News Site.




New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.


For 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp
Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.



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Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Intuilize vs. The Real Cost Of A BI Solution

Mid-sized industrial distributors rely on competitive advantages and business intelligence (BI) to improve decision-making, cut costs and drive strategic growth objectives. That being said, there are many hidden costs to consider related to managing proprietary BI systems that threaten to erode the value that BI has to offer. In a 2017 survey conducted by Gartner, the total cost of ownership (TCO) contains all costs including licensing, implementation, ongoing development costs, and infrastructure costs. For mid-sized businesses the average annual cost of BI is a minimum of $427,000.


Steps to BI Deployment
Total cost of ownership of enterprise-wide BI system deployment is sometimes miscalculated using only the cost of licenses. Successful deployment requires cost preparation across four main steps:
  • Step 1 Development: On average, development of enterprise software costs $80,000 - $1,000,000 based on the complexity of the solution.
  • Step 2 Implementation: Research indicates implementation can cost companies $200,000 - $500,000 with variances depending on project specifications.
  • Step 3 Deployment: At the deployment stage, executives must ensure a company-wide roll out. This means investing in the technology required for everyone to be able to access the platform in IT as well as training. According to Birst, most deployments take 360 - 1,120 man-hours to complete, which for most companies could conservatively range from $10,000 - $60,000 in cost allocations.
  • Step 4 Maintenance: More than half of the costs incurred are directly related to staffing needed to deploy and maintain a proprietary platform.
Conclusion
Although implementing a proprietary, home-grown platform can bring some benefits for businesses, the high cost, stiff learning curve, and long lead time associated with the development and maintenance can create a situation where managed services may be the better route to take. That is where Intuilize, a Predictive Analytics platform, can help mid-size industrial distributors reduce the cost of development, implementation and maintenance that tradition BI system require.


To learn more, visit the Intuilize website.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.


For 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp
Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.



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Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Silver Spring Foods Improves Inventory With Deacom ERP

Silver Spring Foods not only has its own products and brands, but is it also a large co-packer for some of the biggest names on grocery shelves today. A business like theirs has complexities surrounding inventory, documentation, and unique requirements, and Silver Spring Foods manages it with the help of DEACOM. Silver Spring CIO, Noah Wallace III, outlined the biggest impacts that DEACOM ERP has made on their business.


•Reducing Inventory Variance by up to 99%
For years, Silver Spring Foods accepted the fact that their inventory was off $250,000-$300,000. Since implementing DEACOM, they have significantly reduced their inventory variance “Every year, we have gotten better and better,” said Wallace. “We are currently down to about $1,700 in variance even though we now have more inventory.”


•Automating Document Generation
Prior to DEACOM, Silver Spring Foods needed to pull information from multiple systems to create a single document, not to mention manually putting it all together. Today, they have a strong system in place that keeps all critical information in one location and automatically generates documents like Certificate of Analysis and Bill of Ladings. “It’s a much simpler task than it used to be and we know that it is done right. This really helped our people on the warehouse side,” said Wallace.


•Handling Complex Requirements
Making 700-800 different products for various companies, including their own, creates a lot of complexity in their business processes as each brand has their own requirements and expectations. “Before Deacom, a lot of processes were handled outside of the ERP – through excel or MS Access,” said Wallace. “But now with DEACOM, we have the ability to handle those requirements within the system.”


To learn more, visit the Deacom Newsroom or follow them on Twitter: @DeacomInc.




New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software? Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you? Please contact sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.


For 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp
Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.



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