Thursday 7th June 2007, Kerridge Commercial Systems, Hungerford, UK

Square Foot selects *Kerridge Commercial Systems’ K8

*Kerridge Commercial Systems are delighted to announce that Square Foot Ceramics has recently taken the decision to move from their incumbent business management system to the K8 software solution. Square Foot Ceramics, a ceramic tile importer and distributor located in Chessington, Surrey, supplies a wide range of tiles predominantly to tile retailers. More recently, they have opened a Projects/Contracts office geared towards servicing architects, specifiers etc. in a variety of vertical markets including, among others: restaurants, hotels and health club chains.

Rapid growth leads to accelerated decision to change

Square Foot outgrew their existing system in a shorter space of time than anticipated. “When I first set up the company, I chose a simple, low-end product to tide me over until such a time that it was obvious that the demands of the business would dictate change,” explained Scott Williams, Managing Director, Square Foot Ceramics. “I honestly never could have guessed that we would enjoy the success we have so quickly. Consequently, the decision to review our IT came a lot sooner than expected,” he added. With 17,000 sq. ft. premises and employing 19 staff, with considerable experience and knowledge gained in the tile industry, Square Foot’s mission is to offer quality tiles at competitive prices, with excellent stock availability and rapid delivery time to customers. Central to their operation is their commitment to providing superior customer service. This was a pivotal point when considering a new business management solution. It was essential that the chosen system would underpin this as the business expanded.

One choice, one solution

“We felt it was vital to invest in a system that not only catered specifically for the tile industry, but provided the power and functionality we needed to help drive the business forward. We needed a solution that could cope with, among other things: detailed stock control; the ability to handle and manage a wide mix of tile units e.g. m2, each, carton and pallets; multi-currency purchasing; multiple sales transaction methods; full accounts; and comprehensive reporting facilities; all in a networked environment,” commented Scott.

“Since we began, the business has expanded at an unbelievable rate, beating all initial projections. As a result of our continued success and future growth plans, we also needed to employ a system that offered scalability across a multi-branch environment. From my 15 years experience in the tile industry, I knew there was only one choice and that was *Kerridge Commercial Systems’ K8,” continued Scott.

Scott also elected to take up Kerridge Commercial Systems’ HSP (Hardware Service Provision). This is where *Kerridge Commercial Systems take responsibility for providing a ‘power-on-demand’ service delivery of computer processing and data storage resource on highly resilient, leading-edge computer server and storage technology. In essence, *Kerridge Commercial Systems provides the computer resource required to run K8 cost effectively. This offers the flexibility and peace of mind of being able to deliver additional computer resource when required in the future as businesses grow.

“We consciously selected K8 on HSP to give the day-to-day management of our systems to experts, who not only have the know-how, but the state-of-the-art technological infrastructure. Not only do we save the cost of hiring IT staff for the business, but we have the opportunity to quickly upscale our systems, without any disruption, as our organisation expands,” explained Scott.

Well-supported customer base offers peace of mind

Scott was already familiar with *Kerridge Commercial Systems and the K8 solution. “In a former life, I was involved with the implementation of
the earlier Revision 7 system, the previous incarnation of what is now K8 – prior to the acquisition of Kerridge by ADP, of course,” he
explained. “Having used Rev 7 extensively, and having seen an early version of K8, it was obvious that I needed to talk to *Kerridge
Commercial Systems when deciding on the solution for Square Foot. Furthermore, I am aware of lots of other tile companies, both
distributors and retailers, using *Kerridge Commercial Systems' solutions. With such a well-supported customer base, we gained additional peace of mind. Lastly, K8 offers the opportunity to embrace other functionality already existing in the system, should we wish to use it e.g. CRM, transport planning and warehousing,” continued Scott. “Ultimately, the decision really was a ‘no-brainer’. K8 offered us everything we want and need, both for today and for our business tomorrow,” he added.

A recipe for continued success

John McCann, Marketing Manager, *Kerridge Commercial Systems, commented, “I was very impressed with Square Foot’s operation. They
have a fresh and innovative approach to all areas of their business. Not only do they benefit from a high calibre of staff, with the
experience and knowledge to build the operation; a fabulous set of premises; an impressive customer base; and ‘tried and tested’
suppliers with good quality products – now they have, what we believe to be, the best business management solution in the tile market.

Hopefully, the combination of these factors provides the recipe for their continued success.”

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