With an increasing number of buying groups emerging and greater input from external investment capital companies in the sector, there’s a clear message that merchants must seek out every competitive advantage they can in today’s marketplace. It’s therefore vital, says Ten-25 Software’s Managing Director Ian Oldrey, for merchant businesses to optimise their chances of success with strong foundations in technology.
The UK’s economic and political landscapes are uncertain, and have been for some time, making growth harder to achieve and longer-term success far from certain. So how can merchants make sure they’re both ready for expansion and growth, yet protected from risk should the economy slow further?
The digitisation of business is not ‘new news’; but for many merchant businesses, it’s far from a priority. However, the advantages of a truly modern software system at the heart of your business are significant — and without it, merchants could be missing out on more trading opportunities than they realise.
Sustainability throughout
“Sustainability should be front and centre on every business agenda in every sector,” says Ian Oldrey. “And that’s not just about sourcing responsibly; it should be part and parcel of the operations of every business — and by the very nature of a builders’ merchant’s stockholding, optimising the management and lifecycle of that stock should be of paramount importance.”
It’s no surprise that stock management is the core function of most merchant software systems. For a start, full certification tracking is a must, to enable responsible sourcing of natural materials like timber. Here, Ian asserts that Ten-25’s latest offering, the fully cloud-based UT400 system, adds an extra advantage via the integration of the system with the rest of the business.
“By having every member of the workforce using the system from the yard to the finance team at head office, every part of the business is linked,” he says. “When deliveries go out, the system is updated; when they arrive, again, it’s recorded in real time. That level of accuracy means that stock controllers and ops managers have a huge advantage, and the reporting and analysis functions will help to better predict stock requirement fluctuations across the year more accurately.
“That means better negotiating power with suppliers, and better availability for customers, with better, more reliable service. It also moves closer to an on-demand system, negating the need for huge overstocks, while minimising the out-of-stocks.”
It seems obvious that enhanced stock management would help reduce waste, optimise storage requirements and help deliver better customer service through improved availability; yet many merchants still use older methods for stock control.
Enhanced employee engagement
There have been a lot of worrying headlines about employee mental health and wellbeing recently. Absenteeism and lack of productivity costs the UK economy billions every year; but can the software you use really help?
“We believe that the software people use in their jobs every day has a big impact on how much they not only enjoy their job, but how efficient and productive they are able to be while doing it,” argues Ian.
In what appears to be an unusual move, Ten-25 brought in an experienced video game designer during the development process to consult on usability and user experience. Ian explains: “We’ve essentially gamified the whole interface to make it more fun to use. It includes really clear, customisable dashboards so people can see their own targets simply.
“It is motivating to see how you’re performing, but it’s also genuinely useful for managers to be able to monitor all the measures of success they need, from stock availability to margin maintenance and profitability. It helps everyone feel more in control, which is key to the user experience, and really helps to empower people in their roles.”
Designed to be simple to operate, UT400 includes a range of automation functions to reduce time spent on manual, repetitive tasks. From invoicing to certification matching with different batches of stock, Ian explains there’s a lot of meaningful time saving to be had.
“The granularity of detail is vital, but so is the ease of use. You can have all the data in the world at your disposal but if you can’t easily access and understand it, it’s a bit of a waste,” he says. “We’ve put a huge focus on ease of use — in fact, we’re even letting prospective customers access an online demo by themselves, without one of us hovering over their shoulder to show them how it works.”
Integrated, Accessible, Simple
Overall, “It’s a complex and competitive world out there,” concludes Ian. “What we are trying to do is give merchants the best tools to get the job done; a system which helps them have the right stock in the right places at the right times, to deliver the best service possible. We believe we’ve created exactly that — but I think we’ve really gone the extra miles in terms of the usability.
“Our customers have given us so much feedback and we’ve built all of it into this system, so we know it works exactly how they need it to. We’re very proud of it, and we think it really will give merchants a genuine commercial and operational edge.”
UT400 key features:
- 100% cloud based, allowing 24/7 access from ANY smart device
- Customisable dashboards for the most relevant user experience
- Full integration across business areas, allowing up-to-the-minute accuracy
- Tiered pricing makes it feasible for the whole workforce to use – not just management
- Easily switch between metrics, stock types and unit measures, whether individual or pack
- Instantly see customer and supplier history; quotes, notes and credit history included
- Credit controls built-in for peace of mind
- Margin protection limits to ensure profitability while empowering sales teams
- Advanced yet simple analysis for better understanding of operations and finances
- Compatible with leading online accountancy packages
- Full training, implementation and onboarding as standard.
To find out more about UT400 and get an instant quote and value estimate, visit https://www.ten-25.co.uk/400-2/
