Heat Merchants has selected K8 from Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to help “deliver its digital strategy and support its future growth in Ireland.”
The Wolseley Group company supplies a comprehensive portfolio of heating, plumbing, bathroom and renewable energy solutions for both domestic and commercial projects, trading from 42 outlets around Ireland with 30 Heat Merchants branches and 12 Tubs & Tiles showrooms supported by a central warehouse and distribution hub based in Athlone. The business plans to introduce K8 across all of its outlets and central warehouses and will complement its internet presence with the powerful integrated web solutions within the platform.
With a commitment to delivering excellent customer service, Heat Merchants believes that K8 can “drive further efficiencies in its operations through the implementation of the powerful ERP platform.” Supporting the business requirements of over 300 daily users, the solution will be implemented throughout all of the company’s outlets and warehouse, and it will also deliver “a sophisticated digital ecosystem” for Heat Merchants that includes electronic mobile delivery tools for drivers, mobile tools for picking and warehousing, eCommerce trading platform interoperability, WorldPay integration and labour saving OCS tools for Accounts Payable invoice matching and document management.
Commenting on the selection, Chris Cottington, Operational Design Director of Wolseley UK, said: “Wolseley has made multiple acquisitions over recent years and we have been keen to ensure that excellent systems are in place in all parts of the group, along with a consistency of approach towards digitisation of processes and eCommerce.
“Having first worked with KCS over recent months to implement K8 in Bassetts Ltd, a 16 branch supplier of heating, bathroom and plumbing products in Northern Ireland, we have now committed to roll out K8 to our other Irish operations. With K8, we have invested in a modern and scalable business platform.”
Chris added: “The team at KCS has greatly impressed us with their industry knowledge and their attention to detail and we now face the future with confidence knowing that we have a great partner who delivers for us.
“This project has just kicked-off and we are very excited about the transformation it will bring, specifically around branch administration and sales, central warehousing and distribution where we know we can be more efficient. Our drivers and branch staff will be aided by the suite of mobile apps that are now available to us (and) the K8 business solution just gives us a great platform on which to grow our business.”
James Mitchell, Managing Director of KCS in the UK and Ireland, commented: “We are extremely proud to have been chosen by Heat Merchants to support their business growth in the future. K8 is a perfect fit for the business, from managing the busy depots right through to the central warehouse in Athlone.
“We are excited by the opportunities that K8 has to offer the business, including the sophisticated web tools and digital apps that will enable Heat Merchants to transform its digital business processes, deliver a fully integrated web experience for its customers and drive greater efficiencies across the business.”
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