JTD Building Supplies has enjoyed considerable success since its formation little over a decade ago and the independent merchant explains how its choice of business management software has played a key role in its recent growth.
Established in 2011, JTD Building Supplies reports that it has used the “intuitive functionality” within K8 from Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to make great strides in its development. Based in West Yorkshire, the independent merchant provides building materials and supplies to construction firms, trade customers and retail customers across the region.
Starting from a small base with eight people and a turnover of two million, JTD now has two full purpose sites and a full-time staff of thirty-seven people. Moreover, they’ve just recorded a turnover of ten and a half million pounds.
The company grew from values of sustainability and customer service, and was explicitly looking for the right ERP software when Managing Director Tony Sharkey was invited to attend a business management strategy course run by Goldman Sachs. One of his goals set through this course was to find a good ERP Software and, knowing that a number of leading builders’ merchants were using K8 software and after a lot of research and comparisons, Tony decided to implement K8 at JTD in March 2018.
“Ultimately, the way the stock moves through the system is highly intuitive. All you have to do is press a button.”
The transformation since then has been described as “remarkable”. Operations Manager Heidi Teague, whom the company recruited soon after K8 went live, said: “K8 has successfully contributed to our growth and overall performance. It is a system that works intuitively with builders’ merchants, and the beauty is that it keeps on growing.
“The other competitors don’t have the same add-ons and modules, which K8 lets you turn on and off as required. Speed of system implementation is also vital for a business like ours, and K8’s great because it’s user-friendly and simple to use. But that’s only at the surface level.
“Crucially, its foundation lets us build a system to suit our needs. And that means we get an ERP solution that promotes growth, sustains our business, and helps us generate more profit than before.”
James Mitchell, Managing Director for KCS in the UK and Ireland, commented: “We’re constantly updating K8’s functionality for our customers. Incorporating user feedback is one of our core values, and it’s from listening to customers like JTD Building Supplies that we’ve been able to keep driving innovations across our range of software.
“K8’s latest developments give our customers competitive advantage in the marketplace because it helps them streamline their daily operations, open up new routes to market, and improve their customer service.”
Heidi added: “The trading side is fantastic. I’ve implemented software for many different Fortune 500 companies, and they’re all financially led. With K8, however, your business has to be trading led. Once you understand that, the transformational efficiencies that benefit your operation are massive.”
She explains that, through using it, the solution “makes users more efficient and knowledgeable about their business performance”. She said: “So, to raise a delivery for a trade customer, we raise an order. K8 then generates a pick note. We use that note to pick the product up from the warehouse, and then K8 issues an advice note. You then use K8’s delivery note, and despatch it to the customer. To confirm delivery, K8 generates an invoice.
“Ultimately, the way the stock moves through the system is highly intuitive. All you have to do is press a button.”
As JTD have grown, testimonials about its qualities have spread through word of mouth, with Heidi expressing that the software’s “deep functionality” meaning there’s much more potential to explore: “The next thing is to get staff to record information about individual products, customers, and accounts. That will further improve customer service, and over the next eighteen months, we want to implement some of the K8 workflow apps.”
This range of workflow modules — including Sales Rep Portal, eReceipts, and ePOD — are all apps that can be installed on any mobile device to integrate directly with K8, empowering staff to conduct key business tasks from any location, whether in the warehouse, yard, or on the road.
Heidi and JTD will soon implement K8 ePOD, allowing drivers to schedule the most cost-efficient deliveries on their phones, take photos, and record signatures for accurate and digital proof of delivery, all while keeping customers updated with their progress.
James Mitchell highlighted: “This doesn’t just help customer service but it also removes the need for printing and storing paper, andhelps our merchant customers cut down on fuel. So, by taking technology to the job, they use and spend less — demonstrating how easily sustainability and profitability go hand-in-hand.”
Indeed, sustainability is high on the agenda for JTD Building Supplies as it looks to build upon K8 to develop their business. “Aside from implementing more of K8’s different modules over the coming months,” Heidi concludes, “we’re putting solar panels on our roof and buying an electric forklift as well as implementing our strategy for zero carbon. We will also develop an ecommerce aspect for our website, alongside the implementation of a delivery management solution that utilises all the benefits of K8 ePOD.”
Click here for more information on K8 from Kerridge Commercial Systems.
A version of this article appeared in the July/August edition of PBM. Click here to read the full digital issue.
