"What also appealed to me about using K8 was how we could access the software via the cloud..."
- Paul Branch, Director, Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms
Paul Branch, the owner of Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms in Bury St. Edmunds, is looking forward to Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) looking after his IT in the future - so he can get on and run his business!
Abbeygate Tiles & Bathrooms is an independent tile and bathroom retailer, operating from a busy retail park. A family company, Paul’s sister and son both work in the business that was established in 1986. The company serves a mix of trade and retail customers who come from across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. According to Paul, it’s the combination of very high quality service and his extensive product range that differentiates Abbeygate from the local competition.
Paul has just agreed to purchase K8, the business management system developed by KCS specifically for retailers, merchants and wholesalers of all types of building products. “Our bespoke software was getting a bit long in the tooth,” said Paul, “and updating it was going to be prohibitively expensive.”
One of Paul’s biggest suppliers also uses K8 and they had recommended he take a look at the system. He was also reassured by the fact that K8 was used extensively in the tile supply industry and he liked the idea of using a system that was designed to manage his type of business.
“What also appealed to me about using K8 was how we could access the software via the cloud,” said Paul. “We won’t have to bother about maintaining the system or having servers on the premises. I think it’s more secure working like that and means we can get on with what we do, rather than worrying about managing our hardware and IT!”
K8 is a fully integrated trading and business management solution that can be delivered to customers via a variety of traditional or cloud based options. It combines a suite of modules designed to manage sales order processing, purchasing, stock control, CRM, E-Commerce and business intelligence. Plus, Abbeygate will be able to dispense with their Sage package once K8 is installed as its integrated financial suite means there’s no need to use any other accounting software.
“K8 will interface better with Outlook, save us time when we upload customer prices and catalogues and give us additional and easier reporting capability,” said Paul. “But what I’m really looking forward to is how it’s going to release the time and effort that we used to spend looking after our old system and let us concentrate on looking after our business!”
Client Focus
- Has a reputation for high quality service and an extensive product range available
- Its aging bespoke software drove the team to look for a new solution
- Choosing a cloud based solution provided better security and saved time on system maintenance
