EazyStock
Peppard Building Supplies
Reading-based Peppard Building Supplies has selected inventory optimisation software from EazyStock in a strategic move to focus on improving demand forecasting and inventory planning in 2021 and beyond.
In an industry where convenience and speed are critical to customer loyalty, the builders’ merchant is committed to optimising its inventory management capabilities so it can ensure the products its customers need are always in stock and ready for collection or drop-off.
By connecting EazyStock to the firm’s Merlin ERP system, the business will be able to improve the accuracy of its demand forecasting and inventory planning whilst removing its reliance on spreadsheets and manual calculations. Instead, EazyStock will dynamically forecast demand and adjust planning parameters — such as reorder quantities and safety stock levels — and provide automated purchasing recommendations to be fed back to their ERP for processing.
Nic Butler, Co-Owner of Peppard Building Supplies, said: “Our aim is to improve our order fulfilment capabilities so we always have the right products available to meet our customers’ needs. EazyStock will give our team the knowledge and tools to do this. We also want to be more efficient at managing stock items and with EazyStock we hope to fully automate our inventory management processes, giving us more time to focus on our suppliers and customers.”
Peter Drakeley, Head of Customer Success at EazyStock, added: “We are committed to helping Nic and his team improve their service levels and, at the same time, reduce the amount of stock they carry to free-up cashflow. We’ve been a member of the BMF for almost two years now because we’re confident our software and support team can help merchants and suppliers reduce inventory costs, improve stock availability and ultimately be more profitable.”
For more details on EazyStock’s inventory optimisation software, go to: https://www.eazystock.com/uk/software/
eCommonSense
Merchant ecommerce solutions
During the first coronavirus lockdown in the spring, merchants with an established online trading platform experienced a surge in volumes and benefitted from increased sales outside of regular opening hours whilst there was also a significant rise in the number of retail consumers using merchants for the first time.
And just days before England went into its second lockdown, a further three independent builders’ merchants — Gardner & Scardifield, Norgrove Building Supplies and South Coast Building Supplies — went live with an advanced eCommmerce solution from eCommonSense.
Jack Norgrove, MD of Kidderminster-based Norgrove, said: “It’s all about offering customers what they want and, increasingly, they want to be able to order online and arrange delivery, easily and quickly. The solution we have offers all of this and more.”
South Coast Building Supplies’ Tim Payne added: “The trend for online buying has been accelerated by the lockdowns. We needed an advanced eCommerce solution to make sure that we continue to offer excellent service levels.”
Meanwhile, Nick Neale, Director at Gardner & Scardifield, commented: “We have been trading for nearly 100 years but we continue to adapt to the needs of our customers. Increasingly these demand that we offer an advanced eCommerce solution that allows our customers, both existing and new, the ability to trade and manage their accounts online.”
Reflecting on the accelerated pace of the digital revolution in the merchant sector, Andy Scothern, CEO of eCommonSense, said: “We saw a lot of merchants wanting to go live after the experience of the first lockdown. This meant a huge surge in demand for our solutions that will not only future-proof merchant businesses but also provide some protection against further lockdowns and social distancing restrictions.
“While it has been a real challenge for our implementation team, we can deliver due to the vast experience that we have within this market. Lessons from previous implementations have been pivotal to help us overcome most problems we come across with any merchant. This has been a challenging period for many merchants, and we are trying to do whatever we can to support them during these uncertain times.”
To see a demo version of the eCommonSense eCommerce solution, click here: https://demo.merchantturnkey.com/
DueTrade
Digital trading App
A new app building service is set to change the way builders’ merchants and B2B businesses in the industry buy, sell and trade by offering a simple, user-friendly app to help them better connect with their customers.
The service from DueTrade has been designed to make app customisation easy and accessible to businesses of all sizes, allowing them to create a fully branded platform where they can trade goods with customers, share promotions, offer 24/7 ordering, and improve brand awareness.
All apps can be tailor-made to include a range of different functions to fit the needs of each business and their customers. Real-time news feeds with the latest industry and market trading information, stock updates, plus a section for offers and promotions can be included whilst extra features, such as links to websites, podcasts and online shopping platforms, are also available.
Merchant businesses can also incorporate software to directly trade and engage with customers such as fully integrated customer profiles and ‘in-app trading’ functions where they can send bids, save quotes and trade directly. Furthermore, secure profiles can be set up where customers’ can view their order history and trading information including pending orders, favourites and the status of deliveries.
In addition to bespoke functionality, the apps use the branding for each business, with logos and brand colours.
Henry Dewing, Founder of DueTrade, said: “We have launched this service at a time when the use of apps is dramatically rising every year. In the last seven years alone, the number of apps downloaded in the UK has quadrupled, from five billion to over twenty billion in 2020.
“We have created a service that brings this to the forefront for the construction industry, by allowing merchant businesses the opportunity to put themselves into their customers’ back pockets.”
For more information and to request a demo, go to: www.duetrade.co.uk
InterSystems
IRIS data platform
Chadwicks Group, one of Ireland’s leading builders’ merchant and home improvement specialists, has worked with InterSytems to underpin its “ground-breaking digital transformation strategy” to enhance efficiency and improve the experiences of its customers. The partnership has enabled Chadwicks to move away from siloed legacy IT systems to a modern, cloud-first infrastructure — based on the InterSystems IRIS data platform — that is said to allow data to “flow seamlessly to the point of action”.
John Kelly, Sales Manager at InterSystems UK&I, said: “This digital transformation project will ensure Chadwicks continues to adapt to the changing requirements of its customers and benefits from a more agile IT infrastructure. The reliability, scalability and performance of InterSystems IRIS, as well as its ability to facilitate data exchanges in real-time, will be crucial as Chadwicks pushes on with the creation of an online transactional website and captures this lucrative market.”
Full details of the InterSystems IRIS data platform can be found via
