Keith Barlow, retail director at independent home furnishings retailer, Ena Shaw Home is philosophical about the business\u2019 relationship with technology, so it was interesting to hear his take on the latest development for the company \u2013 the implementation of a new software system.<\/p>\n
This development is designed to alleviate the hassle associated with creating products and corresponding options whilst also integrating the AIS TradeIslands system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never really had systems like this here at all,\u201d he admits, \u201cbelieve it or not, we were all using paper and pens.\u201d The system is now fully operational following an 18-month implementation period, during which time something of a re-education took place. \u201cOne of the biggest challenges,\u201d explained Keith, \u201cwas for those members of staff who had previously not needed to be computer literate, so we had to take them through it step by step.\u201d Much of this process as overseen by senior sales advisor\/buyer, Jennifer Williams, who took up the story: \u201cWe went through the process of teaching the team a department at a time to enable them to Staff can now access every product held, along with prices, almost immediately use the system on a daily basis, which the vast majority can now do with no problem at all,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also created a cheat sheet for every single process, complete with screen grabs \u2013 even down to the point of asking whether it should say \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no.\u2019 It\u2019s fair to say I had to very quickly learn every single process!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided we had to move forward,\u201d said Keith, \u201cwhen we were looking at a year\u2019s worth of hard copy invoices. So we began our search for the right system which would offer us both retailer and consumer benefits. A couple of suppliers came to see us and presented their solutions, and we then had to choose between those which met our requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of these suppliers was EPoS and retail management systems provider, Swan Retail. \u201cWe knew Swan already through the AIS, and other retailers who use the system had told us that they were happy with it. We found that it was simple to install, providing maximum efficiencies at a sensible cost. What\u2019s more, we were keen to integrate with the AIS system, which this does. Now we have the whole product files available for 85% of suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support is good too,\u201d interjected Jenny, \u201cwhich has been invaluable to us as a company here, realistically, I\u2019ve been doing it all,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d agreed Keith. \u201cThe only problem we found was that some members of our team hadn\u2019t previously been computer savvy. But they can now find every product we have, with access to prices almost immediately. It\u2019s all plain to see! Once an order is on the system, it creates a purchase order. The warehouse can see and schedule delivery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s more, the reporting side is vital to us. If you know where you\u2019ve been, you know where you\u2019re going, so to speak. For example, we can now find out how much turnover is from beds, as opposed to, say, headboards. We can see how each range is performing, and how much space it needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, how have the changes affected customers? \u201cWell, \u201csaid Keith, \u201cwhen a customer walks in and places an order, we can take their postcode and find and process everything very quickly.\u201d \u201cPlus,\u201d said Jenny, \u201cas the order is printed out, the customer can clarify to ensure accuracy, even if it\u2019s only something small.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have many years of experience,\u201d explained Keith, \u201cbut like many smaller independents we have been fairly backwards in the past in terms of retail strategy. Now we have Jenny and a team of other people, and with the new system, we are more up to date with the current climate, and more in line with the big independents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a real advantage too, being member of AIS,\u201d adds Jenny, \u201cin that we can easily import supplier catalogues. We simply go to TradeIsland, find the product or company we want and select Format B. Then we format the headings and import into the Swan system. It\u2019s straightforward and takes five minutes \u2013 instead of a whole day!\u201d<\/p>\n
So, with the new system in operation, and a number of awards \u2013 including the AIS Member of the Year Award for retail and a listing in the London Stock Exchange\u2019s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain \u2013 under its belt, what\u2019s next for the company?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next step,\u201d said Jenny, \u201cis to further develop the website in order to broaden its appeal and showcase more of what we have in store.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d agreed Keith, \u201cthis summer our aim is to make the site more user friendly, and we will be working with Swan and Iconography to achieve this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to try and attract a different generation of customer,\u201d said Jenny. \u201cSo we are enhancing our social media presence and we\u2019re getting more interest already. It\u2019s second nature to me now to check it out each day \u2013 even if I\u2019m standing in a queue in the supermarket!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key,\u2019 said Keith, \u201cis to make sure we answer everybody. People on social media want information on trends, so it\u2019s important to respond quickly. Doing so also gives you a better rating on Facebook \u2013 and our page already has lots of likes and comments. In fact, we have had people come in specifically, having seen our posts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have certainly brought things forward at quite a pace in recent months, but we are not going to stop there. And from a systems point of view, we don\u2019t have to as we\u2019re currently using around 70% of its capacity, which means that it is future proofed.\u201d<\/p>\n
With everything it has achieved already, we look forward to finding out what Ena Shaw Home can do with the other 30%!<\/p>\n
Cabinet Maker caught up with AIS Member of the Year Award winning retailer Ena Shaw Home to find out how it went about implementing a brand new software system, and what this has meant for both the business and it customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,80,74],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n