News

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), the global provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and business management software for distribution, servicing and rental businesses, has reached an agreement to acquire Omni Accounts Software.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is pleased to announce that we have now partnered with CapVest, a leading private equity investor. This new partnership enables us to further expand our portfolio of exciting and innovative ERP and business management software solutions that enable our customers to take advantage of the rapid technological advances, and to meet the business challenges of the new digital era.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a global ERP and business management software provider for the Distributive Trades, has reached an agreement to acquire Compilator (Sweden, Finland and UK). The acquisition of Compilator is a strategic investment for KCS, supporting its strategy of growth into new regions and further expanding its offering to the automotive industry.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a global ERP and business management software provider for distributors, wholesalers, retailers and the equipment hire industry, has acquired Palladium Business Solutions, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, along with its successful suite of products. Palladium Business Solutions is a long-established software provider servicing the distribution, manufacturing and accounting sectors throughout South Africa. The new combined business now has Approx. 13,500 customers and 75,000 users, a combined channel of 370 business partners distributing Palladium Business Solutions and KCS products throughout Southern Africa.

This acquisition is a further strategic investment for KCS as they look to grow and provide further expertise and business management solutions for the distribution industry worldwide. In addition, the acquisition heralds a positive new chapter for Palladium Business Solutions as the company looks to build upon its existing success.

In 1988, Toy Kingdom opened their first store in Sea Point, Cape Town. Then known as Peggity’s Toy Store, they have moved to the V&A Waterfront in 1996, where they’ve since become an institution for locals and tourists.

In 2006, an opportunity came about to open an emporium store in the V&A Waterfront, and a year later, the first Toy Kingdom store came to life. Currently, they have 24 stores across Gauteng, Durban, and Cape Town and they stock a wide range of products, which includes: action figures, dolls, arts and crafts, kids’ electronics, educational games, and more.

To find out more, read the full case study.

Established in 1973, the Kempston Group offers a broad spectrum of specialised services. Over the years, they have grown from a basic operation in East London, to having branches country-wide, that employ over 4 000 staff members.

Previously, Kempston had an in-house system that was designed for their Truck Hire division. The system had no direct features or benefits relative to their Material Handling division. They were looking for a simple, easy-to-use software solution to streamline the processes of their forklift fleet operations.

To find out more, read the full case study.

In 2014 two friends, Simon and Grant, decided to launch a website to wholesale and retail generic designer perfume. By challenging convention and not following perfume pricing monopolies, they established a price point suited to their market, and the business gradually started to grow. Over the years they expanded into retail stores, kiosks, and eventually a shared warehouse.

In previous years, Fine Fragrance didn’t have an ERP solution in place, and they were introduced to the KCS team through an acquaintance. They required a functional solution that could support a wide area network of stores, matched their budget, has a POS functionality, and Head Office module. Because of the extensive network they manage, keeping record of all business activities is also crucial.

To find out more, read the full case study.

Kwick Access Rentals provide contractors working at height all the relevant assets they need. The business has an ambitious team and aims to be the largest female-owned and operated rental company in Africa. Such clear vision and commitment to quality, prompted them to sign with inspHire in November 2021.

Since then, they’ve used the award-winning plant, tool and equipment hire software to fully digitise their fleet and further enhance their service.

To find out more, read the full case study.

Kerridge Commercial Systems South Africa (KCS SA), industry leading ERP, Retail and Business Management software provider for Distributors, Wholesalers, Retailers and the Plant, Tool and Equipment Hire industry, is excited to celebrate their 40 year anniversary in Africa this year.

The company, which is headquartered in the UK and with offices around the globe, was established in 1976. They expanded on their footprint and opened an office in South Africa in 1982. ‘We can honestly say we have grown from strength to strength over the last 40 years. In that time, we have expanded our offering, grown our team, added more offices in Africa (which means we now have offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kenya), and we have most certainly grown our customer base and have some exceptional businesses across Africa on our books. I am really proud of what we have achieved, of how we have grown and of what we are able to offer local businesses,’ commented Giuseppe Martini, Managing Director for Kerridge Commercial Systems Africa.

1982 was an interesting year for technology and was also the year after which Time magazine veered from their tradition of choosing a person of the year, for their ‘man of the year’ cover. Time magazine selected the ‘personal computer’ as its focus and named it ‘machine of the year’. This issue was published in January 1983 and offers an idea of where technology was at during that time.

So much has changed over the last 40 years and it’s no different for Kerridge Commercial Systems. The software group’s ERP systems have been modernised over the years enabling their customers to source, stock, service and sell competitively, ensuring they keep up with the changing times. Today they offer comprehensive solution based business management systems, with a range of supporting and managed services.

The company have announced many improvements and new solutions over the years. Some of which now includes cloud based solutions, eCommerce platforms, mobile Apps, a retail, accounting and franchise solution for small to medium sized businesses, a plant, tool and equipment hire solution, a BI partnership and much more, in addition to their industry leading flagship ERP system for medium to enterprise sized Distributors and Wholesalers.

“It has most certainly gone both ways where our local customers have been able to leverage off our global solutions and expertise, as the rest of our regions across the globe are also now able to leverage off our African solutions and expertise.

We have built a hub of excellence here in Africa with an exceptional team and have grown our offering to such an extent that our customers in other regions are now able to leverage off our South African born solutions too. We recently launched IQ Retail, our South African developed accounting, retail and business management solution for small to medium sized business and franchises, into the UK and Canada and it’s been extremely successful.

We are proud of what we have built and of what we are able to give back to our local community in terms of job creation, training and employing interns, and much more.’ Said Martini.

The company is excited to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Africa this year and they look forward to offering many more innovative solutions to their African customer base.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a global distributor of business solutions for the distributive trades, is pleased to announce the acquisition of RNH Solutions.

“IQ Retail is a secure and robust system, that’s flexible and can tailor to all of my needs. With IQ POS, our available stock information and accuracies have tremendously improved.”

Anand Thaker, Owner at Abhani Commercial Ltd

Abhani Commercial Ltd, a second-generation family-owned business, offer general hardware-type products with a specialist focus on plumbing solutions. The industry-leading hardware business run a central operation, with a large warehouse and trading branch in Mombasa, Kenya, supplying products throughout the country and have been doing so for over 35 years.

Traditionally Abhani relied on manual processes to manage their operations. Given the way the world is going, Abhani realised a need to move over to a more digital way of running their business.

Additionally, as they grew, they required instant access to real-time stock levels. IQ Retail seemed to tick all the boxes and offered all the features that Abhani was looking for, in addition to having a good reputation and offering a cost-effective solution.

Since they moved over to IQ Retail, they had instant access to relevant sales data and stock levels, without having to physically be on the premises and without human resource.

Abhani wanted a system that was easy to use and that catered to their entire workflow, so it had to include all of their operational processes. The business serves both retail and wholesale types of customers so they required a system that could support these specific business needs.

One such example is that Abhani’s wholesale customers have individual pricing agreements in place and IQ was able to cater to those requirements. A pricing matrix is maintained so each customer is provided with a consistent price per product which differed from customer to customer. That also meant Abhani was able to empower their staff to offer customer-specific discounts or prices, eliminating the need for supervisors to override certain discounts on a sale-to-sale or customer-to-customer basis.

With Abhani’s progressive vision to grow along with their aim to move to a more digital way of running their business, they were excited to have found a software provider that continuously invests in the technology and in its people. Working with a local organisation that has global backing has many benefits, including a continuous investment in product improvement.

Many businesses, who make use of global service providers, often need to deal with global offices instead of working with local representatives. This often leads to a disconnect. One of the big benefits of IQ Retail is that they are part of a global organisation but have an office in Kenya with their divisional head office in Cape Town. This ensures that customers have access to in-person support and local consultants.

Abhani Owner, Anand Thaker, was looking for a couple of key features in a new ERP system. It had to include the following:

• The system had to be fully integrated
• It had to be user-friendly
• They wanted access from anywhere at any time
• They wanted to segregate responsibilities and provide user-specific access, empowering people within their specific roles
• They required a system where they could delegate responsibilities, but retain visibility of all activities

Anand said, ‘We were looking for a digital Point of Sale system that would be good enough and that would be able to do the job properly. We came across IQ Retail and their POS system had everything we were looking for and more.’

Anand further explained, ‘We were running on a manual system for our sales. It was quite tedious to calculate prices and so forth. Having computerised our system with IQ POS, it reduced a lot of manual work. Sending quotes is now much easier with the ability to use WhatsApp, as well as converting quotes and sales orders into final invoices. Looking for old invoices is also much easier compared to a manual system. When customers want a copy of their invoice, it is easy to send via email or WhatsApp.’

IQ POS is a user-friendly Point of Sale system with the option of fully integrating with IQ Business and IQ Enterprise. It also offers additional powerful functionality, such as including airtime, account, or suspended sales and shifts and cash-up reporting to mention a few.

Anand commented, ‘IQ Retail is a secure and robust system, that’s flexible and can tailor to all of my needs.  With IQ POS, our available stock information and accuracies have tremendously improved. The system enables us to identify fast moving stock, we can easily check our sales as well as viewing the profitability to date.’

Anand added, ‘If I can offer some advice to any family-owned businesses, I would definitely suggest going digital. It makes running your business so much easier and it will streamline processes, which can assist with some of the tedious day to day tasks, freeing up time to focus on other areas of the business.’

IQ POS’s bespoke functionality has provided Abhani Commercial Ltd with:

• Reconciliation of stock quantity movement
• Email statements and invoices to customers
• Customised reports and advanced filtering engine

"It is gratifying to recognise how businesses are benefitting from our digital solutions and professional consulting. We aspire to provide value to our clients." - Trevor Dorasamy, General Manager at Kerridge Commercial Systems, Kenya.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is extending its K8 business management software offering with the launch of ePick, a mobile application that ensures the accurate and efficient picking of stock in branch. By automating the picking process, the app gives users the necessary tools for users to deliver the right products to customers, every time.

The app is compatible with KCS' popular K8 business management software and is available on both Android and iOS devices. K8 ePick is capable of processing pick tasks created within the K8 system, replacing the hand-written validation of printed pick notes and subsequent confirmation within K8.

Once the pick has been selected, the app will work in offline mode, allowing users to move freely across different locations throughout the yard. K8 ePick provides complete visibility over all the products and quantities that need to be picked and guides users to each bin location. They can use the app to validate the quantity they have picked by confirming the full quantity, scanning the product barcode or keying it in.

Through the app, it is possible to perform a visual check of the picked items by accessing the product images stored on K8. In the event of any picks being short, other problems arising, management will be notified electronically.

Once the task has been completed, the order will be confirmed and details automatically uploaded to K8 in preparation for being invoiced.

"Efficiency and accuracy are the core components of any stock pick; not only does this help to automate the picking process and to keep costs down, it also ultimately means that customers receive the items they've ordered. K8 ePick is an invaluable tool for any branch user," said James Mitchell, KCS Managing Director in the UK and Ireland.

å"We expect demand for K8 ePick to be high as customers look for further ways to enhance their use of K8 and deliver further cost and efficiency savings across their businesses in these challenging times."

K8 ePick is now available to our customers now, we are excited at the opportunities that this will offer them to enhance that excellent customer service that really differentiates them from their competitors. Users who are interested in learning more about this app are advised to contact their account manager, or call  01488 662000 for more information. 

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) has today announced the formation of a new strategic Ecommerce Division within the group. The company, with operations across the globe, has recently seen a significant focus on ecommerce and digital technologies.

Announcing this key strategic investment, Tom Jackson, Director of Product Management at KCS, commented: "Our customers have looked to us to provide solutions that can help them meet the challenges posed by the recent pandemic, including changes to their business models.

Industry leading ERP, Retail and Business Management software provider, Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), and leading analytics software provider, Phocas Software, today signed a global partnership that will enable KCS’ customers to elevate data held in their KCS systems

July 2020 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a leading provider of ERP software, services and support solutions for wholesale, distribution, rental and installation customers worldwide, announced today it has acquired Unit4 Wholesale in the Netherlands.

This acquisition is an important strategic acquisition for KCS in the Benelux and a positive development for Unit4 Wholesale. Unit4 Wholesale will continue to maintain and support existing software solutions and introduce the benefits from the KCS portfolio to its customers to support customers even better

April 2020 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a leading provider of ERP software, services and support solutions for wholesale, distribution, rental and installation customers worldwide, has today announced its acquisition of Infomat.

This is an important strategic acquisition for KCS in Benelux and a positive development for Infomat. The company will continue to maintain and support its existing software solutions and introduce the benefits of the KCS portfolio to better support its customer base.

Heather Preu has joined Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) as Chief Executive Officer – North America. With a strong background in executive leadership, Heather’s recent roles include senior management positions within Infor and IBM, both global suppliers of software solutions.

Heather will take full responsibility for all KCS operations in the USA and Canada, including MAM and KCS (previously known as Dancik and Mincron).

Dear Customer,

As the effects of Coronavirus deepen across our world I wanted to update you on the work we are doing to support our customers around the world.

All our offices are in home working mode. Our Business Continuity plans have been instigated and all services continue to function with remote working. You should see no degradation of service on our support hot lines, including our 24x7 support service. Our R&D teams continue to develop and innovate and our consultants and training department are continuing to successfully help customers with new implementations, system management and upgrades by way of video conferencing tools.

Over the last 2 weeks we have implemented hundreds of VPN solutions to help many customers work from home. We have provided hundreds of hardware devices to help customers work in a mobile way and we have helped many of our customers move to Cloud Solutions for their business critical systems to ensure business continuity. This week we are launching new web-trading software to help customers rapidly implement internet trading solutions and keep trading electronically.

We are determined to be there and help you innovate, automate and evolve to meet the new trading challenges.

If we can help in any way please do not hesitate to contact your personal Account Manager or the support desk.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Bendelow
Kerridge CS Group CEO

“IQ Retail has provided us with great support and has proven to be a great asset in our business from the get-go.”

Barnabas Gioche, Andus and Mahius

Established in 2016, Andus and Mahius, is a wholesaler trading company that provides general consumption products and animal feeds of a wide variety. Situated in the Mount Kenya Region, their vision is to become the one-stop-shop for all household items and to bring the vision of  "Everything…closer to you" to the greater Kenya area.

Andus and Mahius realised a need to change their retail solution when they found that their current system would not support their plans for future growth. They required functionality that would keep up with their expansion plans.

Owner, Barnabas Gioche, said; “We needed a solution that would not only support us as a business, but that would also be user-friendly for our staff. IQ Retail provided us with exactly such a solution.”

Key Benefits:

• Route and delivery management
• Integrated processing of Invoices, Credit Notes, Goods Receiving, Returned Goods, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, Job Cards
• Maintain multiple stock locations within a single company

Andus and Mahius realises great benefit in IQ Retail’s fully integrated platform, which includes:

• Drill down capability on any transaction
• Reconcile stock quantity movement
• Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, Job Cards
• Comprehensive stock reporting and customisation of standard reports
• Multiple stock ordering formulas per stock item
• Integration of debtors, stock and general ledger

Hungerford, UK, October 21, 2019 – Kerridge Commercial Systems (“KCS”), a market leader in software, services and support solutions for trade, wholesale, manufacturing and distribution customers worldwide, today announced it has completed its acquisition of MAM Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ Capital Market: MAMS) (“MAM Software” or “MAM”), a leading global provider of on-premise and cloud-based business management solutions for the automotive parts, tire and vertical distribution industries, having satisfied all requirements.

Ian Bendelow, CEO of Kerridge Commercial Systems, said, “KCS offers end-to-end ERP solutions including Supply Chain Management, Financial Management, CRM, Warehouse Management, Plant and Hire Management, Transport Management, Business Intelligence, ePOS and more, specifically for the distribution and manufacturing markets. Bringing MAM into the KCS group will strengthen our presence in the automotive aftermarket sector. We believe our broadened set of complementary solutions will allow us to better serve existing customers of both KCS and MAM over the long-term while also providing a very compelling alternative for new customers.”

Blue Bell, PA and Hungerford, UK, September 3, 2019 – MAM Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ Capital Market: MAMS) (“MAM Software” or “MAM”), a leading global provider of on-premise and cloud-based business management solutions for the automotive parts, tire and vertical distribution industries, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which it will be acquired by Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), which provides software, services and support to deliver fully integrated trading and business management solutions to trade, wholesale, manufacturing and distribution customers across the world, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $154.2 million. Under the terms of the agreement, MAM stockholders will receive $12.12 per share in cash for each common share of MAM, which represents a 14% premium over the closing price on August 30, 2019 and a 38% premium over the prior 90-day average of $8.80 per share.

“This all-cash transaction provides MAM Software’s stockholders with a premium over the pre-announcement market price of their shares, and we believe it will allow our team to increase our focus on long-term success that will benefit customers, employees and partners. Together with KCS, we can offer a broader portfolio of solutions to our customers globally,” said Mike Jamieson, MAM Software CEO.

“We have long believed that a partnership between MAM Software and KCS would create a range of significant strategic opportunities,” said Ian Bendelow, CEO of Kerridge Commercial Systems. “MAM has significant traction in the automotive aftermarket sector that augments our solution offering, and this combination also will expand our U.S. market presence. We look forward to joining with the MAM team as we invest further in the business to accelerate MAM Software’s growth and bring greater value to its customer base.”

Following an extensive review of strategic alternatives and a thorough process, MAM’s Board of Directors have unanimously approved the proposed transaction. Following the execution of the merger agreement, stockholders of MAM representing more than 50% of MAM’s outstanding shares delivered a written consent approving the transaction and no other approval of MAM’s Board of Directors or stockholders is required to complete the transaction. The transaction, which is expected to close in or prior to the fourth quarter of 2019, is subject to certain customary closing conditions. A copy of the definitive agreement will be made available at MAM’s website at www.mamsoftware.com.

Mirus Capital Advisors and Sullivan & Worcester LLP are serving as MAM’s financial and legal advisors, respectively, for this transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as KCS's legal advisor.

About MAM Software Group, Inc.

MAM Software is a leading global provider of cloud-based business and on-premise management solutions for the auto parts, tire and vertical distribution industries. The company provides a portfolio of innovative software (SaaS and packaged), data (DaaS), and integration (iPaaS) services that enable businesses to intelligently manage core business processes, control costs and generate new profit opportunities. MAM's integrated platforms provide a wealth of rich functionality including: point-of-sale, inventory, purchasing, reporting, data and e-commerce. Wholesale, retail and installer business across North America, the U.K. and Ireland rely on MAM solutions, backed by dedicated teams of experienced service and support professionals. For further information, please visit www.mamsoftware.com.

About Kerridge Commercial Systems

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) provides specialist software, services and support to deliver fully integrated trading and business management solutions to distributive trades customers, large and small – wherever they are in the world. With our heritage in distributive trades, our technical experts are thought leaders in trading and management technology, and our innovative and flexible approach ensures our customers partner with us for the long-term. Our mission is simple: to design and deliver high performance, integrated ERP solutions that enable our distributive trade customers to source effectively, stock efficiently, sell profitably and service competitively. For further information, please visit www.kerridgecs.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on beliefs and assumptions of MAM’s management and on information currently available to MAM’s management and that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements include information concerning MAM’s possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, potential market opportunities, the successful closing of this transaction, effects of the transaction, operations as a private company and the location of its headquarters and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements consist of all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “accelerates,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including, without limitation, (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; (2) the possibility that the consummation of the proposed acquisition described in this communication does not occur or is delayed, either due to the failure of closing conditions or other reasons; (3) the risk that the proposed acquisition disrupts current plans and operations or increases operating costs and the potential difficulties in customer loss and employee retention as a result of the announcement and consummation of such acquisition; (4) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against MAM, KCS or others following announcement of the merger agreement and transactions contemplated therein; and (5) those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of MAM’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and MAM’s subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. MAM urges you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating its forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. MAM does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger, MAM intends to file relevant materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including a preliminary information statement on Schedule 14C. Following the filing of the definitive information statement with the SEC, the Company will mail the definitive information statement to all MAM stockholders. You may obtain copies of all documents filed by MAM with the SEC regarding this transaction, free of charge, at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov or from MAM’s website at www.mamsoftware.com.

Contact:

MAM Software

Brian H. Callahan
Chief Financial Officer
610-336-9045 ext. 240

Kerridge Commercial Systems

Todd Fogarty
Kekst CNC
212 521 4854
todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

inspHire Limited is pleased to announce its acquisition of the inspHire software business from its reseller Elev8 Australia Pty Ltd.

inspHire has provided its award-winning rental solutions through its local reseller for the last 12 years and now plans to service customers directly. It targets a number of core markets including heavy plant, construction vehicles, powered access equipment, oil and gas equipment, portable toilets, audio visual and medical equipment.

inspHire has been providing its software solutions to the rental industry for a number of years and operates in Europe, North America and Africa, supporting over 1200 companies in 30+ countries. It is part of Kerridge Commercial Systems Group, who provides software to 15,000 customers worldwide, offering end to end ERP solutions including rental, supply chain management, financial management, CRM, warehouse management, transport management, business intelligence and ePOS solutions for the distribution and manufacturing markets.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a specialist software provider, is proud to announce that they have officially opened an office in Nairobi, Kenya. KCS is focused on servicing the distributive and retail trades and have software solutions that allows businesses to streamline their processes and operations. These solutions are especially effective in helping businesses manage their stock.

The decision to open an office in Nairobi was made due to KCS already having a significant number of customers in Kenya. This strategic move will therefore further support their existing customer base and grow the business.

Des Nangle, Managing Director of Kerridge Commercial Systems, Africa, said “We are very excited about our investment in to Kenya. An ERP or a proper retail software solution is no longer optional for any SME or larger sized business. The world around us is constantly changing and competition is really tough. As a result, businesses need to maintain a competitive advantage by optimising processes and focusing on their customers. This is what is so great about our ERP and retail solutions; it is cost effective, quick to implement and can really change how a business operates, especially if it involves managing stock.”

KCS already has several Business Partners in Kenya and there are additional opportunities for other local businesses. This supports the Kenyan economy, via FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and will result in new jobs being created. This initiative further supports and compliments our objective of providing quality service to both existing and new customers.

Trevor Dorasamy will be heading up the new Kenyan office. Dorasamy said “I have been in this industry for many years working closely with customers, matching solutions to individual business needs, resulting in improved performance. I believe that strong relationships are key to successful business journeys and I look forward to that journey with our Kenyan customers.”

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is pleased to announce the acquisition of EDP, a company listed on The London Stock Exchange. EDP supplies sales analytics & CRM and ERP software, such as Vecta and Quantum, to merchants and other distributors. The K8 ERP solution, developed by KCS, is widely used in similar markets, where the company has over 40 years of experience and is a recognised thought leader in trading and management technology. Clearly the acquisition is a good fit for both businesses.

During the past eight years KCS has grown rapidly, both organically and through the acquisition of a number of businesses, to extend its geographical reach, add product capability and extend into adjacent vertical markets. The company now serves over 10,000 customers across Europe, South Africa and the United States.

By integrating the EDP business with KCS, all customers will be offered a more extensive product suite. KCS will also offer the Vecta CRM/BI product to its wider global customer base as a stand-alone product, as well as integrating it as a module within some of the KCS products. KCS will continue to service and support customers using EDP’s Quantum, Merchant, Charisma, Esprit and The Business Programme products. Over time, KCS will offer alternative products (such as its core K8 ERP system) to EDP customers, as potential longer-term solutions.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ian Bendelow, Chief Executive Officer of KCS said, “The acquisition of EDP is a great opportunity to accelerate our strategy. It brings us greater presence in the UK and an increased platform for growth in our traditional markets. EDP is a high quality business with customer offerings that are highly complementary to KCS. We welcome EDP employees to the group and look forward to working with them.”

Sir Michael Heller, Non-Executive Chairman of EDP said, “The EDP and KCS businesses have been good competitors for many years, addressing the needs of customers in the same vertical markets. Accordingly the EDP directors believe that KCS’ activities provide a strong fit with those of EDP and that KCS is an appropriate partner to continue the development of the EDP business. The additional resources that KCS will bring will mean that it is well positioned and resourced to support EDP and the future growth of the EDP business.”

We are delighted to announce that Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) has been ranked No. 37 in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, a league table that ranks the top 200 of Britain’s mid-market private companies in order of fastest growing overseas sales.

The league table is produced by Fast Track, the Oxford firm that researches and ranks Britain’s top performing private companies. When surveying the companies, Fast Track also found that the US is the most popular country for overseas sales, with 118 of the 200 companies citing it as a major market. It is also the top choice for future growth, with more than half the firms (107) planning to expand there.

Fast Track also believed the league table shows the resilience of Britain’s mid-market exporters. Despite the uncertainty created by the on-going Brexit negotiations, their combined international sales have grown by an average of 62% a year over the last two years to a total of £10.1bn, the highest growth rate measured in the survey since 2013.

The Sunday Times reported that it was another sign of confidence that 60 of the listed companies had chosen to acquire overseas businesses to help accelerate their growth – up from 46 last year. The six strategic acquisitions KCS made recently in Europe, the US and South Africa were obviously instrumental in our international sales reaching £24m in 2017.

The full league table was published as an eight-page supplement with the business section of The Sunday Times on 10 June, both in print and in the digital edition and on: www.fasttrack.co.uk/company_profile/kerridge-commercial-systems/

“With its user-friendly point of sale interface, we were able to implement the KCS Retail solution into all stores allowing for seamless in-store processes, with accurate live reporting back to head-office.”

Carrol Boyes

Carrol Boyes is the founder, creator and CEO of Carrol Boyes Retail (Pty) Ltd in Cape Town. Her high-end deftly crafted and coveted product range of upmarket home and lifestyle products is associated with inimitable and unique design that exudes style and finesse and are available throughout South Africa and in over 30 other countries around the world.

Establishing a strategic partnership with KCS in 2009, Carrol Boyes opted to implement the KCS Retail solution to her existing store base at the time, which comprised of a centralised head-office and 9 stores.

“K8 offers all the functionality we need, accommodating our complex business processes. K8 offers a fully integrated non-modular ERP solution that will enable us to grow our business.”

Aimee Mason, Managing Director, Spec-Cast Wear Parts

Spec-Cast Wear Parts has nearly tripled in size since 2015, therefore they required a system that could better manage their operations and financials. K8 provides the support for further growth of the business with a system that will offer the controls and efficiencies required.

Online based learning (e-Learning) is fast becoming a thriving industry in educational technology, with the number of companies using online learning, increasing every day.

e-Learning is designed to solve the challenges of traditional classroom-based training – delivering quality product / service training courses over the internet, bringing the classroom to you, at a time that best suits you, whether you want to improve your knowledge, develop or enhance a skill set or help train new starters.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

January 2018 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a market-leading global provider of software solutions to the retail, wholesale, merchant and distribution markets, has reached an agreement to acquire AGP, based in Veghel, the Netherlands.

UK headquartered KCS already provides software to 14,000 customers worldwide, offering end to end ERP solutions including Supply Chain Management, Quote to Cash, Financial Management, CRM, Warehouse Management, Transport Management, Business Intelligence, ePOS and more, specifically for the wholesaler, distributor, retailer and merchant sectors. The acquisition supports the company’s strategy of continued growth and follows five other acquisitions during the last 24 months, including 2 in the USA, 2 in South Africa and 1 in the UK.

Like Kerridge Commercial Systems, AGP has been delivering wholesale ERP Solutions for more than 40 years, as well as solutions for hire, projects and the installation industry. The company’s suite of products makes them a leader in the Wholesale ERP market in the Netherlands.

AGP will continue to maintain and support its existing solutions, including Trade, Rent, Projects and Installware. In time they will introduce new benefits to their customers from the KCS portfolio such as advanced e-commerce and Cloud services, along with an optional upgrade path to the established suite of KCS services and products. To further support existing customers of its K8 ERP system, KCS will look at integrating some of the solutions from the AGP suite.

Ian Bendelow, KCS Group CEO, said, “As a key strategic acquisition in the Benelux, this further strengthens our presence on the European continent, and expands our service capabilities and product offerings. As we further our platform for growth, AGP affirms and aligns with our on-going business strategy of focusing on the needs of merchants, wholesalers, retailers and distributors.

Our customers will benefit from an even stronger Netherlands based team to support our customers’ needs.

The KCS Group will continue to build organically with its industry focused solutions and customer focused service, constantly attracting more customers and helping existing customers to succeed and grow. We will add further strategic acquisitions to enhance our geographical presence and capability for our growing customers.

Michiel Bakker, Director of Operations - KCS Benelux added: ‘Combining the two companies strengthens our offering of ERP Solutions and Cloud Services in the same verticals, allowing us to grow even further in the Benelux. The ERP solutions complement each other and they secure a place in the market from niche customers to large global enterprises.’

“Turnover has doubled in the seven months since K8 was implemented and, although I can’t put that all down to K8, there’s no way we could have managed the current level of business using the old system.”

Darren House, General Manager, Trading Depot

Trading Depot, the online trading sister company to Grant & Stone, offers more than 48,000 product lines to a loyal and growing customer base who maintain its ‘excellent’ rating on Trustpilot, the online review community. The company supplies plumbing and electrical products, sanitaryware, flooring, PVC windows and doors, some heavyside materials such as paving and more than 30,000 tools.

“We’re seeing huge growth,” said Trading Depot General Manager Darren House. “While around 70% of our customers are homeowners, the remaining 30% are tradesmen who are happier shopping in an online environment today than they were 10 years ago. Although we don’t offer trade accounts, we offer a choice to builders who are looking for a keener price and are happy to wait a day or two for their delivery. We also offer a click and collect service from our warehouse. I like to think there’s a traditional merchant feel about the business as we offer great customer service including technical support over the phone at pre-purchase stage.”

“Selecting a new retail system has been a priority for a long time and after considering various options, we’re happy to be implementing the KCS retail solution in our stores.”

Estelle Nell, systems project manager, Solomons Fashion and Décor

Solomons Fashion and Décor is the ultimate fashion and décor destination, offering a range of top quality local and imported fashion & décor labels, which promise to brand your world for less. Solomons’ legacy has been around since the early 1890’s and has since grown into a multi branch retailer with 5 other multi brand stores located in and around Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Estelle Nell, the systems project manager said “Due to Solomons’ growth, the need for a centralized head-office system became critical, as the stores were decentralized, making stock visibility and global reporting a huge challenge. A business of this size and nature needs to be able to manage stock effectively, have visibility of best performers and non-performers, and we need to be able to stock intelligently, based on the needs of our customers. Debtor’s management with revolving credit was a key requirement for us, as we have a base of loyal customers.”

“We knew we had to make the transition and the perfect time arrived when we opened our newest branch in Somerset West, where we first implemented the KCS Retail solution.”

Christelle Smal, Retail Manager, Cape Garden Centre

Cape Garden Centre opened in 1996 and has evolved into the largest garden centre in the Western Cape. With 4 branches in Joostenbergvlakte, Stellenbosch , Somerset West and Vredendal, Cape Garden Centre carry a wide selection of plants, pots, pavers, water features, garden furniture and other garden décor for the whole family all year round. Cape Garden Centre did not have a sales and stock management system in place and with their growing business, the need for centralised control became more urgent.

“I am very happy with the KCS Retail solution. It has given me the tools I needed to operate my business efficiently and has supported me in opening my Menlyn store within a few short months of implementing the system.”

Irena Staneva, Owner, Rene Mariane

Rene Mariane, an exclusive woman’s fashion label, chose to implement the KCS Retail solution as part of their plans to grow their business within the South African market.

The European based brand opened its first store in in Morningside Sandton in 2009. Irena Staneva, owner of Rene Mariane, contacted KCS for a solution, as she had plans to grow her business, but the current system she was using could not support her overall requirements. Irena commented “I need a system that will give me control over my stock, the ability to accept customer orders, lay byes, a loyalty programme, and good reporting.”

“We are very happy with the choice we made regarding KCS as we now have one supplier with the necessary skills and knowledge for both our retail stores and our payroll and that’s not very common. We look forward to a long-standing relationship far into the future.”

Roelof Coertse, Financial Director, Pet Masters

Pet Masters implemented the Kerridge CS (KCS) Retail solution in 2013 and have been happy with the system and level of service received ever since!

Pet Masters, the largest pet retailer in Southern Africa, are synonymous with the supply of a variety of top end pet products, expert advice, toys, and livestock. Their head-office with on premise bird park is based in Boksburg. Customers can enjoy a quick bite to eat at their Blue Crane Tea garden while admiring a wide variety of birds.

When Luminance, a South African luxury multi-brand fashion chain, were in the market for a new retail management solution to support their stores in Hyde Park, Nelson Mandela Square Sandton and Menlyn Park Mall Pretoria, they opted for Kerridge CS (KCS) Retail.

Emelda Mashamaite, Warehouse Manager, said: “Our previous system was not user-friendly. We had difficulty sourcing information, promotions were not easy to set up as we had to manually change an item’s selling price, you would then need to change it back manually once the promotion had ended. Customer history was not readily available from the POS screen, we would need to go into the back-office to get a customer’s historic information. Reports were also not easily accessible and cumbersome to generate.”

Luminance, Hyde Park implemented the Retail solution by KCS in April 2015 and they have not looked back since. Having now implemented the solution across all stores, Emelda expressed: “We now have a retail system that encompasses both POS and back office in one. Access to information has drastically improved. Reports are easy to run and promotions are easily set up and managed by date range. We can add various promotions by group of products or select items and don’t have to change pricing manually anymore. We can access customer information from the POS screen whilst the customer is standing in the store.”

“Everything we do with the retail solution offered by KCS, is much simpler and easier for our staff to access.”

December 2017 - Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a market-leading global provider of software solutions to the retail, wholesale, merchant and distribution markets, has reached an agreement to acquire Lakeview Computers (Lakeview), Dartford, UK.

UK headquartered KCS already provides software to 14,700 customers worldwide, offering end to end ERP solutions including Supply Chain Management, Financial Management, CRM, Warehouse Management, Transport Management, Business Intelligence, ePOS, and more, specifically for the distribution and manufacturing markets. The acquisition supports the company’s strategy of continued growth and follows three other acquisitions during the last 18 months including one in USA and two in South Africa.

The Lakeview business is seen as complementary to KCS’s current product portfolio and market positioning. On completion of this acquisition, the KCS operation will provide solutions to over 14,950 customers and in excess of 190,000 users.

The acquisition has been welcomed by Lakeview and their products will continue to be maintained and supported. KCS will look to investigate opportunities for the Lakeview solutions leveraging off KCS’s existing infrastructure and product portfolio. While with all ERP solutions there will be a set of common functionality, Lakeview’s products are clearly focused on the SME market whilst K8 (the KCS product) offers scalability and covers a wider set of verticals within manufacturing and distribution.

Speaking about the acquisition, Ian Bendelow, CEO of KCS commented “This is a key acquisition for us. It immediately gives us a greater presence in the UK market and an increased platform for growth in our traditional markets. Fundamentally both Lakeview and KCS offer customers value via functionally rich solutions and continuous development that is highly responsive to our customers evolving needs. Lakeview and KCS are a great match.”

Lakeview will operate as an independent business unit of KCS with a new brand to emphasize the synergy with KCS. The entire Lakeview staff will be working alongside the KCS team to ensure the success of the Lakeview/KCS integration.

In the retail industry today, it is not only your products, but your service, that keep customers coming back. Customer retention is an important part of any business strategy. Why not improve what you have to offer with a robust solution for your business?

To find out more, read the full blog post.

The festive season is just around the corner. Follow some of the tips below to make sure your business gets the most out of the festive season.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), a specialist software provider of integrated ERP software solutions, focused on servicing the distributive and retail trades, announced today that Integrity Software have been renamed Kerridge Commercial Systems.

KCS believes that providing that all their services under one powerful brand will make them a stronger partner to their customers, enabling them to provide even more value to their customers.

KCS assures that the rebrand does not involve any changes to Integrity’s existing products. The rebrand enhancement is a reflection of KCS’s commitment to being a strategic partner to their customers. They are committed to continuing to provide innovative solutions to support their customers.

The rebrand brings about a few operational changes. KCS, South Africa have launched a new responsive website – www.kerridgecs.co.za. The new site combines KCS and Integrity Software product offering. KCS, SA have also moved offices, both in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.

Johannesburg Office:

Culross on Main, Building 4, 34 Culross Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg, 2191.

Cape Town Office:

First Floor, Moonstone Building, 25 Quantum Street, Technopark, Stellenbosch, 7600.

“The rebrand will have minimal effect on our customers. It’s business as usual. We will, of course, continue to develop our products and execute projects with the same level of excellence and professionalism our customers have come to expect. Going forward our strategy, values and vision remain unchanged. With one company name, KCS commitment to remain at the forefront of technology for the distributive and retail trades. Our mission is to help our customers source, stock, sell and service competitively, while we continue to focus on innovating and delivering market-leading ERP solutions built for the distributive and trades – only now we are reflecting this with a strong, unified company name”, Des Nangle, Managing Director for KCS.

As the company transitions to the name KCS, they would like to thank their loyal customers for their continued support. This is an exciting evolution for the company. KCS look forward to growing their offering in the African market and are counting on the continued support of their customers.

For more information on Kerridge Commercial Systems, visit www.kerridgecs.co.za or contact marketing@k8.co.za

"MegaBuild has been a long-standing customer. It is good to see clients prosper with the solutions Kerridge Commercial Systems offers."

Danie Du Toit, Financial Director, MegaBuild

Pupkewitz MegaBuild have gone live with K8 Web Builder a powerful, integrated e-commerce solution. Web Builder integrates into Pupkewitz MegaBuild’s existing K8 ERP system, enabling them to trade 24/7.

Pupkewitz MegaBuild are one of Southern Africa’s largest building and hardware supply operations and have been a leading supplier of building goods since 1946. The addition of an e-commerce website adds a lot of value to the business. The online selling capabilities enables customers to place orders at any time of the day or night, making Pupkewitz MegaBuild more accessible to their customers.

Danie Du Toit, Financial Director at MegaBuild said: “We are currently still in a final proof of concept stage with only limited customers having access to our website. We look forward to the official launch, when all customers can benefit from our e-commerce service offering.”

"The K8 roadmap presented to us, by Kerridge Commercial Systems, cemented our decision. We realised that an ERP change in our business is not a small one, and that our preferred ERP supplier must still be around in the next 20 years."

Gonnie Nadasen, General Manager, Kaizen Motor Spares Distributors

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) are pleased to announce that Kaizen MSD have decided to partner with KCS to rollout K8 throughout all their branches in South Africa. Kaizen Motor Spares Distributors, established in 2007, have grown into one of the largest automotive aftermarket distributors in South Africa with branches in Johannesburg, Durban, Nelspruit, Cape Town and Polokwane.

Kaizen MSD realised the need for a comprehensive, fully integrated system, Kerridge Commercial Systems. K8 will be replacing their legacy system. Kaizen MSD felt they had outgrown the system as it lacked multi branch stock management, financial controls, margin management and support in general. Furthermore, their legacy system did not cater for product descriptions, nor did it have a product file per branch.

Kaizen MSD will find immediate value in the alternatives associated with K8 once it is implemented. Such benefits include but are not limited to; back to back processes for buy-outs and strong financials for a multi branch business as well as the centralised controls needed.

"We are the first traders to provide customers with this service from the convenience of their vehicles. Clients can remain in their vehicles while material is brought to them and loaded into their vehicles."

Levi Strauss, Director of Purchasing, Ark Trading

Ark Trading has been a Kerridge Commercial Systems customer since 2015. K8 replaced an outdated POS “Sales Assist” and manual back office process. Paul Koster, new Managing Director of Ark Trading, focused the relaunch of Ark Trading to position the company to provide the best possible service to all building contractors. As part of the relaunch, Ark Trading launched its ‘Drive Thru’ for all hardware and building customers in June 2017.

Powered by K8 technology, Ark Trading are able to have a mobile work station using a wireless network to service their customers in their yard. The ‘transit service’ concept was complete with a printer, allowing customers to receive a full service and sales transaction from the convenience of their vehicle.

Did you know that in 2016, mobile devices such as smartphones overtook PCs as the most popular device for surfing the net, and more search is carried out on smartphones than on any other device? We all vastly underestimate how much time we spend on our mobile devices (phones and tablets), sometimes by as much as 30%. In 2017, mobiles will be used to consume more content than televisions.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Did you know there has been a 91% growth in the use of mobile devices over the past two years throughout the entire b2b purchasing process?

And this is only going to continue to grow.

View our eCommerce webinar page for more information, and register on GoToWebinar for our free Webinar to hear eCommerce expert, Charlotte Graham-Cumming, share her extensive experience in creating and implementing eCommerce strategies on Thursday 14th September at 4pm.

The promotion engine enables buy one, get one free offers amongst many others, and enables promotions to be applied to purchase orders. This ensures that you can now benefit from promotions that are offered by your suppliers.

Find out more about our sales order processing software.

“In terms of technical scalability K8 is ready to go from 1 depot to 600+. It can be used just as effectively by small businesses as by large operations like ours.”

Clive Cockburn, CIO, Howdens Joinery Co.

A company that operates 642+ branches and manages 450,000 trade accounts clearly needs robust software to ensure sales are processed efficiently and inventory is managed visibly and accurately. Ten years ago Howdens Joinery chose K8, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution developed by Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) to replace its ageing legacy system. Since then the relationship between the two companies has evolved into a strong partnership that has seen the KCS team working closely with Howdens to help them achieve their business objectives and regular reviews to plan future strategic developments.

Read the full story and download the pdf.

Chris Hirst, head of pre-sales at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), explains how using a computer system with a fully integrated business intelligence (BI) module can provide you with clear insights into every aspect of your business, help you spot trends and support you in making crucial business decisions.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

With our solutions you gain instant access to performance measures such as sales versus targets, aged debt profile, inventory on-hand, orders taken, supplier performance and many others, you can be sure that you stay connected to the business at all times. Reporting Dashboards provide your business with the ability to tailor and create your own KPI’s and reports that can be delivered to your users, on their Desktop, Smartphone or Tablet.

Find out more about our business intelligence solutions.

Sanjay Fatania, Financial Implementation Manager at Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), explains how using a computer system with fully integrated financials delivers greater efficiency, visibility and faster decision making to your business.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in the current economic climate and every business owner or financial manager wants constant, fast access to the most up to date and accurate financial information. Using a computer system that combines a trading system with fully integrated financials means up to the minute sales figures, debtor position, cash, stock values, etc., will always be immediately available for informed analysis.

To find out more, read the full blog post.

Tony Pey, Head of Sales Engineering at Kerridge Commercial Systems, explains the benefits of using eCommerce.

You may have heard that introducing eCommerce is one of the most profitable changes you can make to your business. And, that your new ‘virtual’ branch will soon be generating valuable incremental sales, increasing your turnover and delivering a 24/7 service to your customers.

To find out more, read the full blog post.