Digital transformation is a big theme for merchants across the UK and Covid-19 has accelerated the trend significantly. For Cornish builders’ merchants Build Supplies, moving to the Cloud for its operations was already on the agenda, and with a brand new, 17-acre site just opened and an eCommerce platform launching, the business needed to prepare for the challenges ahead. Established in 2005, Build Supplies is a family-run, independent timber and builders’ merchant. Its aim is to offer construction companies , trades, self-builders and the general public a range of good quality, well-priced materials with a fast, easy and reliable delivery and collection service. Whilst wanting to compete with national merchants in terms of service and product offerings, Build Supplies maintains its focus on uncomplicated, traditional family business values. With its eCommerce site launching, Build Supplies needed to update its infrastructure to be able to align the digital front end of the business with the operational back end. Thanks to sustained growth, Build Supplies recently acquired a brand-new, 17 acre site. The expansion, combined with the move into eCommerce, highlighted the growing need to look at the systems used in the business to manage the stock, workflow and business, and so director Mike Tregunna began the task of selecting a new, cloud-based ERP system. “We needed to improve every area of the business,” he says. “Operations, logistics, admin, stock management, forecasting – we had to find a new system to help us evolve.” A new system to support growth and expansion Like many legacy systems, the software in place felt “cumbersome, overcomplicated, outdated and difficult to get the best out of.” Mike and the team wanted to find a new provider where training and support would be responsive and effective, and which could flex with the company’s growth. After a lengthy selection process involving several leading software providers, Build Supplies opted for a brand new, cloud-based system from another family-run business, Ten-25 Software. “The online demo system was without a doubt the key reason that we signed up. Any company that has the confidence in its product to allow potential customers to use it, at their leisure and with no pressure, gets my attention. It demonstrated how easy Merchanter is to use and gave us the most in-depth testing of all the companies we contacted.” Mike Tregunna, Director, Build Supplies. A modern solution for today’s challenging commercial world “We wanted to find the most up to date, browser-based builders’ merchant ERP system to put us on a level playing field with the nationals in terms of technology,” explains Mike. “But it was also important to find an easy and straightforward company to deal with, which offered responsive service and the same family values we have ourselves. Ten-25 ticked all those boxes, and the online demo system convinced us it was the right way to go.” They identified that they wanted a package that fed through information on key operations and analysis data easily, rather than having to hunt for it. “Merchanter’s KPIs and reports are exceptionally easy to use and will massively improve all areas of our operation and performance,” says Mike. Accessibility and Control Accessibility and control were also incredibly important factors in choosing the new software. Mike says, “We loved the idea of a browser-based system, which was fully accessible on any device, from anywhere. With Merchanter, we can control our software the way we want to, making the changes we want, when we want them, without the need to log support calls or speak to account managers.” Cloud software can of course be updated and refreshed automatically, and remotely, which was another benefit, meaning the user always has access to the latest version of the system and the newest features, without disruption or additional cost. “We’d found that needing client software downloads and VPN access to get into our existing system was extremely restrictive, which was further highlighted by the ongoing pandemic and need for flexible working,” he says. “Opportunities to work remotely will be hugely advantageous to motivating our team.” Ease of use helps the whole team Merchanter has been built on the principle of usability, and Ten-25 has gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the interface is simple to use but incredibly powerful, enabling users to perform daily functions more easily and access information more simply. This proved to be a deciding factor for Build Supplies, and one that brought the whole team on board with the decision. “Merchanter has clearly put its users at the forefront of its development,” says Mike. “From the gaming designer’s layout of intuitive functions, big fonts, and bold graphics, which make it a pleasure to use all day, making it less draining on your eyes and less tiresome.” As Ten-25 Managing Director Ian Oldrey says, “We wanted to make the system as simple as possible to use. Simplicity leads to more use; more use leads to better information within the system, and better information leads to better decisions, better processes and ultimately, better business.” Mike agrees, adding, “All of our staff are extremely excited about using Merchanter as it makes all of our working lives so much more enjoyable. The flexibility and control in terms of pricing, the simplicity, and options available to control our stocks, will be a gamechanger to our company.” He also looks forward to the opportunities the software will provide for staff in the longer term, saying, “Merchanter and its superb remote training will allow us to employ new sales staff members once the pandemic has passed, and we are confident that they will require minimal input in terms of training to get up to speed.” Flexible - and affordable - solutions for merchants Given the uncertain commercial climate and ongoing challenges of Covid and Brexit, among others, it was important for the chosen system to be not only affordable but flexible for the shifting demands. “The format of user subscription, which we see works so well for many software applications, really works for us. The ability to add and subtract users at the click of a button is really innovative for our industry and it will no doubt help growing pains in a growing business as will the ability to add additional branches in minutes.” The ease of implementation helped to clinch the decision too; with everything from demo system to training being available remotely, it meant that Covid restrictions didn’t hold up the process and the whole project could be delivered in a very short space of time. “Everything is done remotely,” says Mike. “This has saved a huge amount of time, cost and waste in terms of unnecessary travel, fuel and accommodation. It has really highlighted the way business can and should be done moving forward.” The cloud-based nature of the system allows total flexibility of use and guarantees that the user always has access to the latest version of the software and its features. Again, this was an attractive proposition, especially given the day-to-day control it enables. “The Super User allows us to control our software, the way we want to. We can make the changes that we want, when we want, without the need to log support calls and go through account managers,” he says. “We can see how good Merchanter is already, and it is clear that this is the weapon of choice for any building and timber merchant that want to bring their business up to date and drive forward.” The right foundations for eCommerce and future growth Launching its eCommerce website via industry experts eCommonSense , Build Supplies is confident it now has the right system to run its operations efficiently and effectively. Mike says, “We are excited about using Merchanter to run our business and the great opportunities that this, linked with our eCommonSense website, will give us.” Mike and the team now feel ready to face the challenges ahead, with the freedom and control to flex where needed and the insights and information to make the right business decisions day to day – and it has been a really motivating change for the whole business. “Merchanter will make a huge difference,” he says. “The ease of use, control and monitoring have motivated a huge culture change for our company. This piece of software gives our family business the opportunity to be right up alongside the national merchants in terms of technology, without the need for a dedicated in-house IT team. I really cannot praise Merchanter, Ten-25 and the team highly enough.” Discover the beautiful simplicity of Merchanter yourself on the online demo system .

Back in 2020, Cornish builders’ merchants Build Supplies chose Merchanter as its new trading and stock management system. With plans for an eCommerce site and a need to drive greater efficiency and profitability in the face of the pandemic, Build Supplies needed a modern, digital system with the capacity and scope to evolve alongside the business. 18 months after our original case study , we caught up with director Mike Tregunna to find out how things are going. What are some of the challenges Build Supplies has faced over the last year? "Like many businesses within the construction sector, 2021 was another difficult year for us, with pandemic staffing problems, supply chain fragility and material price increase pressures. 2021 also saw lots of changes and modifications to the operations of our business including new trading software, a new ecommerce website and streamlining of our delivery processes." Our staff love using Merchanter. The system makes every task, quicker, easier and that bit less painful. What are you most proud of over the last year? "We are proud of several things that were achieved in 2021. We managed to maintain turnover, successfully implemented Merchanter, launched our ecommerce website and vastly improved our stock control and delivery service; but ultimately, managing to stay open throughout the whole year is probably the biggest achievement of all." What learnings have you taken from the last year? "With so many changes going on in all areas of the business, there have been lots of learnings and not everything always goes to plan. For example, we changed the way our collection operations ran to fit around Covid guidelines, moving from self-service to using our staff to collect ordered materials and bring the goods to the customer. However, customer feedback suggests that they’d rather handle materials themselves and that quicker service isn’t always a priority, so we listened to that feedback and adapted our processes accordingly." How did the Merchanter implementation process go? "Overall, the implementation has been very impressive. As we were one of the first onto the new system so you’d expect some teething issues getting initial data across, but this was dealt with rapidly and the implementation has been smooth. We’re really pleased with the system and it’s making a big difference in all areas of the business." What were some of the quick wins that Merchanter enabled? "Our goal when choosing to implement Merchanter was to improve every area of our business in some way, whether that change was a big or even just a small improvement. And I’m happy to say, there have been lots of wins! The searchability and visibility throughout the whole system makes every task, quicker, easier and that bit less painful. Due to the multiple ways in which Merchanter can deal with customer price terms, we are saving at least three working days per month on invoicing and invoice issues, which makes a huge difference and really adds up across the year. The number of set prices that we have to override is now minimal and the ability to re-issue invoices to any customer within a few seconds saves real time." What improvements have you observed? "We have seen huge benefits from our Merchanter system. Time is saved in every business process from quotation through to credit control. The ability to update the information quickly within Merchanter has improved the following; Quote times – the ability to produce quotes so rapidly and with such ease Profitability – the ability to set product costs that reflect a rising market with such little administration has definitely maintained and improved margins Stock Management – the stock confidence and ad hoc stock countability has seriously improved our stock controls and internal processes for the way that we manage stock. There’s still room for improvement but we have seen massive improvements in stock control and this will continue to improve Operations – improved stock control has led to more complete first time deliveries, fewer unhappy customers and an overall improvement in efficiency which will put us in very good stead for the future with the jump in operational costs such as fuel, energy and supply price increases. Merchanter has made a massive saving to our business, and improved our profitability significantly. Being able to manipulate cost prices responsively in a changing market, along with the improved stock control and system visibility has markedly improved our cost to serve." What are the main advantages of Merchanter for builders’ merchants? Ease of use - We have managed to train new staff to competently use the system within a couple of weeks and they enjoy using the system day to day. Efficiency in finding the information that you need to process orders rapidly . Setup times and the ability to link to any printer, work from anywhere, email and document in any format are all massive wins. Our staff love using Merchanter - they comment on how easy it is to use and generally, other than the odd bug or niggle, I hear nothing bad about the system which can only be a positive. How have you found the move into eCommerce? "It’s been a relatively slow start in terms of actual orders, but we’re now achieving a steady flow of orders so we hope that moving forward this will improve. We’ve also noticed interest in new areas coming through from the website forms so that’s helping to direct us in new business ideas. We see the site primarily as our shop window, and it’s definitely helping to attract new customers. There are always teething issues with new sites and we are working with our supplier to resolve these, but I’m confident things will continue to improve as time goes on." What are your ambitions for 2022? And how can Merchanter and Ten-25 help you deliver them? "For 2022 we would like to see our stock confidence above 80%. We would like to see profitability and sales increase even further, and to improve our online sales. The development ideas we’ve put forward will really help with that and with enhanced reporting, we should really be able to get a handle on the metrics and see the improvements even more tangibly." We have seen huge benefits from our Merchanter system. Time is saved in every business process from quotation through to credit control. Are you happy with the service you’ve received from Ten-25? "Yes, we are extremely happy with the service from Ten-25. Several of the development requests that we have made have been integrated into the system which we are very grateful for. There are a few new ideas for developments which we’ve flagged, mainly to help link in with the website, and the growing resource of self-help training videos on the customer portal will be a massive help for us in getting even more out of the system." We’d like to say a huge thank you to Mike and the team for their positive feedback and for being brilliant customers. We really do take pride in our customers’ successes and it’s wonderful to see Build Supplies going from strength to strength. If you would like to try Merchanter for yourself, just register here for login details and get 30 days’ FREE access to the online demo system.

Now that HMRC has introduced compulsory adoption of Making Tax Digital for all VAT-registered businesses, it’s essential that businesses keep the right financial records and submit their VAT returns in the right way. This is now mandatory in the UK so every VAT-registered business should know about these rules. Corporation Tax: currently it is not mandatory for businesses to use Making Tax Digital for corporation tax though according to the HMRC website, this will be introduced from 2026. Income Tax: Self-employed businesses (and landlords) with income over £10K pa will be required to follow the new digital rules from 6th April 2024. All VAT-registered businesses are required to follow the Making Tax Digital rules by keeping digital records and using software to submit their VAT returns. So why are we talking about it? It’s really just a quick reminder that when you’re using software in your business that links all your operational functions together, it makes keeping digital records an awful lot easier. For systems like Merchanter, which have a high degree of interoperability (i.e. it integrates well with other platforms), it’s dead easy: as the system will be integrated with your financial platform already (Sage, Xero, QuickBooks etc), that platform will have all the information necessary to keep you VAT compliant. Generating invoices digitally is really easy (and automated), and your sales ledger will automatically be linked with the financial platform, so digital reporting becomes a piece of cake. (OK, maybe not cake – it’s still tax, after all – but it’s a whole lot easier and quicker than having to duplicate everything manually.) Some ERP systems have in-built financial systems which are no doubt compatible with the new regulations, so those should keep things simple too. If you are still using a manual system to run your business, it’s all still perfectly possible, though of course you will need the right software for submitting your VAT returns and financial records. It’s worth noting, however, that it is becoming increasingly expected for businesses to operate digitally, and the efficiencies on offer are really quite significant. If you would like to have a chat about how to go about implementing a cloud-based ERP system which can integrate with your existing accounts platform, please get in touch: info@ten-25.co.uk

On Friday 26th February, the BMF brought together several leaders from different areas of the timber industry for the regular Timber Forum. Rather than recap everything in detail, this is a quick overview of some of the main points discussed. For more info visit the BMF website. We can probably all agree it’s been a tough year. The pressures of Covid and Brexit are being felt throughout the industry, and at every point of the supply chain, particularly in terms of product availability, but there are also issues with employment and of course, longer term NetZero targets. Roadmap to Recovery BMF CEO John Newcomb talked through the Roadmap to Recovery plan, using the framework of “Restart, Reset, Reinvent,” which will be familiar to BMF members already. Three key initiatives to note are: Workplace testing : there is a huge drive on workplace testing and any employer with more than 50 employees (across all locations, not necessarily in one place) will qualify for free lateral flow testing kits, in a scheme which has been extended to the end of June. Applications need to be in by the end of March so visit the BMF website for more information The Kickstart Scheme: This is an initiative designed to help 16-24 year olds, statistically the most likely to have been affected by Covid, to secure work placements which could lead to employment or apprenticeships. There are government grants and funds available to make this free to employers, so again, visit the BMF website to get involved. NetZero 2050 : The challenging targets set by the government for 2050 will require a co-ordinated approach across the industry and beyond. Again, members are encouraged to visit the BMF website for more information on the brand new ConstructZero plans, and how to get involved by becoming a business champion. Product Availability Unusual and unpredictable surges in demand thanks to lockdown have been compounded by transportation delays and a fundamental lack of raw materials, resulting in sharp price rises and availability issues. Coming into spring, when demand for materials usually rises anyway, we are likely to see more issues with supply, and merchants will need to manage stocks and forecasting carefully. Several speakers, including representatives from the National Timber Group Scotland, BSW Timber and Sodra, all highlighted the issues with material supply across timber, panel products, roofing materials, bathroom accessories, steel and more, demonstrating that the problems extend into all construction materials. There are also issues with container availability and pricing, shipping costs and delays, and even availability of hauliers, particularly from Europe to the UK. The speakers also highlighted potential issues with new product standard certification for the UK due to Brexit, moving away from the previously recognised CE marking, to a new UKCA standard. Although the CE standard will be permissible until at least 2022, there could be cost and timing implications, especially for smaller sawmills and suppliers. Not all ERP systems currently allow dual certification either so it’s worth checking in with suppliers. These issues are not going away and they are not limited to the UK; these issues are global and there are no straightforward solutions. Prices look set to continue rising, leadtimes to extend, and availability to become increasingly problematic. The housing sector does not appear to have been hit hard yet, but the issues are there down the line and there will be knock-on effects for everyone. Six ways to tackle 2021 and beyond Here at Ten-25 we don’t like to leave a problem unsolved. While there are no simple solutions to the challenges facing the wider construction industry at this time, here are five ways we believe merchants can prepare for the year ahead, and beyond. 1. Make use of the industry resources at your disposal. That includes the BMF advice given above, but there are other trade bodies there to support and inform, such as the TTF and TRADA. Also we always encourage a sense of community, sharing of best practice across businesses, and pulling together for a greater good – the industry, the economy, the population and the planet. Causes don’t get much bigger, and it’s going to take a lot of hard work, innovation and collaboration to make a difference. 2. Enable agility in your systems. The modern world depends on digital and if you’re not there yet, time is running out. Digital systems, eCommerce platforms, AI and machine learning can all create vast efficiencies that every business will need, facilitating faster responses, better data handling and a much more flexible business model capable of reinvention and adaptation. Advanced analytics tools can also make a huge difference for merchants, enabling better stock management, optimised stock turn and more accurate forecasting based on more regularly updated and accessible information. 3. Make more of the stock you have. Use the systems available to better optimise the stock profile, supply and turnover of your existing stock to ensure it is working as hard as possible for you. Longer term stock issues are not going away, but every merchant is capable of better understanding where opportunities and gaps are in their current stock profile, and enhancing it as much as possible. 4. Get involved with ETIM. Standardising product information will enable great advances in digital systems and will make eCommerce, digital ERP and supply chain management much simpler. Find out more from the BMF or on the ETIM website . 5. Think sustainably. Government targets may move over the coming months and years but our collective responsibility to work sustainably has never been more important. From responsible sourcing to process and system efficiencies and educating customers and staff, we all have a moral and social responsibility to drive the sustainability agenda at every opportunity. 6. Keep the lines of communication open. Talk to your suppliers, your customers and your service providers, your trade bodies, local governments and other relevant organisations. Get involved and take an active role where you can. This isn’t a challenge that can be solved by any one organisation, so it’s always worth talking to suppliers and service providers to see what efficiencies could be made, or for new ideas on how forecasting, supply chain or other logistical issues can be addressed, and timelines managed. There are global issues at play here which are outside our collective control. But where you CAN take action, or influence it, do.

Timber comes out on top in architecture and design webinar for sustainable and effective learning environments – with some surprising additional benefits. On 10th December, we attended an interesting webinar hosted by #designpopup, sponsored by Domus Tiles , on the subject of Net Zero Carbon Design & Sustainable Architecture. The format was a panel discussion between architects, educators and policy makers – and there was a clear message to take away. The sustainability and environmental benefits of timber will not come as any surprise to many of you reading this, but it was illuminating to hear its benefits made so clear for not only construction, but also for educational environments specifically. Given the government's strategic goal of developing Net Zero Carbon buildings by 2050, urgent action is required towards decarbonising the built environment. Lee Bennett, partner at Sheppard Robson Architects LLP and one of the four panelists, made the case for timber very clearly. His firm belief is that timber is the answer to achieving the net zero targets put in place by the government, and that designers and construction companies should maximise the use of responsibly sourced timber – particularly cross laminated and glued laminated timber. Timber as sustainable, carbon negative material Timber certainly ticks a lot of boxes. It not only looks great; it has low levels of embodied carbon in its usage, and continues to sequester CO2 up to maturity. As a material it is carbon negative, and of course, forestry represents one of the most important carbon sinks in the world, with positive global impact. Naturally versatile, timber also has low wastage rates and also low disruption rates in construction, working harmoniously with so many other construction materials. So far, so good, but probably nothing new to many of you, who have been extolling the virtues of timber as a sustainable, carbon negative construction material for some time. But some of the other benefits of timber, on user health and wellbeing, may not be so well known. Timber as source of health and wellbeing Back in 2009, a year-long study was carried out at the Joanneum Research Institute in Graz to ascertain the benefits of a heavily timber-based environment on students. The results were overwhelmingly positive. It concluded that children taught in a room made of solid wood are actually healthier than children taught in a standard classroom, and that wood actively reduces stress, with heartbeats lowered by 8600 per day. Children in the study became more relaxed, with lower stress levels and higher achievement and concentration rates. And finally, student aggression fell significantly. As a natural product, timber contributes to student wellness by bringing the natural world into the classroom. It appeals to the senses, with both beauty and visual warmth, effective acoustics, a calming scent and pleasing and natural textures, creating a calmer and more effective learning environment. Is timber the future? With extremely ambitious targets set by governments for sustainability and carbon neutrality, designers and construction companies must work together to overhaul methods in sourcing and use of materials to boost efficiencies and consider whole life cycle impact; not only of the composite materials and methods used, but of the buildings created too. Of course, bodies such as the TTF , TRADA , Wood for Good and many more are wonderful sources of information about the important work happening to promote the use of timber in construction. We would encourage you to visit their websites to find out more. If you are interested in hearing the whole webinar, visit www.domusgroup.com or click here to download it.

I wanted to make you aware of a project we are having to prioritise on the Merchanter/UT400 development cycle. As we may have mentioned recently, the system is developed on a Mendix platform, which currently runs on version 7, which is due to go end of life at the end of this year. We have been testing and making arrangements to move the system up to version 9 of Mendix since summer 2023, and had scheduled in that process once we had finished Transport Scheduling, and a couple of other major projects, over the summer. However, we found out on Friday 10th May that we now only have until July to make the move. From July, the version 7 generation of the system will continue to run until the end of the year, but we cannot build any new features or fixes to it after July. For this reason we are having to urgently prioritise the project to move to version 9 over the next 6 weeks. This will have an impact on the development projects we had scheduled in for that period. We wanted to let you know of this delay, and to assure you we will be moving as fast as possible to catch up once we have made the move. It will mean that developments we were looking to deliver in May/June are likely to be pushed back to July/August. We haven’t made a platform generation change on Mendix before, so we don’t know everything we are letting ourselves in for, and whilst initial testing is looking very promising, I would rather block out a good chunk of time for the move and be able to let you know if all goes quicker than we expected, than have to keep coming back and pushing back delivery times on your new features several times. When we make the update to your system from version 7 to version 9 there will be no disruption in service, it will be the same as any other update, and in many ways the system will not look or behave differently to the current version. There is a silver lining to this disruption, that once we have the system on version 9 of Mendix you will see performance, security, integration and functionality improvements and there will be greater scope for developing mobile versions of the features you already use and better native apps for jobs like driver deliveries and mobile stock checking. Thank you for your patience, Ian Oldrey Managing Director

With Merchanter you can quickly import prices from your favourite suppliers. Holding their current prices makes it quick to compare prices and simple to build purchase orders to maintain optimum stock levels. There are two ways to import spreadsheets of prices into Merchanter: 1) Supplier spreadsheet - use a spreadsheet from a supplier and map the columns and rows as part of the import process. This template for each supplier can be reused the next time they send you a spreadsheet, assuming it uses the same layout. 2) Product spreadsheet - export a spreadsheet of products from Merchanter, revise the purchase prices and import back into the system. Individual product buy prices can be logged against a product for a supplier, or set from previous purchase orders. View the full how-to guide and tutorial video on our Knowledge Base.

The marketplace business model may not be new – after all, eBay and Amazon have been around for a while now – but it is reported to be the fastest growing model in eCommerce. In the merchanting sector it's a slightly newer phemomenon than in other areas of retail, but there is an accelerating trend for marketplace-style selling platforms, and more and more merchants are getting involved. What's new in the market for merchants? This month saw the launch of the B&Q marketplace, in partnership with Mirakl, with a view to expanding its current 40,000 strong product range to more than 100k, allowing brands like Black & Decker and Breville access to sell directly to customers via its diy.com website and app. The full expanded range is not available as at launch (March 2022), but will be added to over the coming months. (See this article at InsightDIY for more info) However, other platforms are taking the marketplace model to the next level, enabling merchants to list products themselves to access new audiences and connect with customers in different ways. While trade-focused platforms like Woodscanner are already doing excellent work in connecting buyers with available stock at the right price, many merchants are also looking to take more advantage of the thriving DIY market, currently worth over £14bn* a year to the UK economy. Trade will always remain important of course, but trends for home improvement, driven by the pandemic and the rising costs of living, as well as increasingly sophisticated DIY guides and self-help resources available online, continue to rise. One notable example of this, as reported in Builders Merchant News is the recently launched DIY marketplace Plane and Simple. This platform, part of the Donaldson Group, aims to connect DIYers to local merchants, allowing greater exposure for local sellers. While currently focused in three areas of the UK (Central Scotland, Devon & Cornwall, and Sussex & Kent), the longer term aim is to cover more of the UK. Why are marketplaces a big opportunity for merchants? With more merchants turning to eCommerce as part of the broadening digital transformation of the sector, it’s unsurprising that marketplace models are becoming more widely adopted. The rise of online purchasing has already created greater pricing transparency, while supply chain and availability issues have been widely reported, forcing many tradespeople to search online for available stock. The majority of product research is already done online, and this trend is only set to intensify with an increasingly digital-savvy customer base. Ecommerce is becoming more broadly adopted by merchants, and competition is fierce, so it makes sense to connect with as wide an audience as possible. Increasingly simple eCommerce solutions, whether industry-specific of “off-the-shelf” solutions like Magento or Shopify, are helping a greater number of merchants to compete in this flourishing market, and modern technology’s enhanced interoperability (integration capacity) makes it easier for more merchants to list products on marketplace sites like eBay or even Amazon. One of the big challenges for local or independent merchants is awareness, so marketplaces can be an excellent tool for helping to connect them with local audiences. The emergence of platforms like NearSt underline the importance of this, again helping to raise the profile of local availability for DIY and trade customers alike. So how can merchants make the most of the opportunity? Firstly it’s important to decide whether this is a market you want to compete in. At first glance it may seem that marketplace selling is going to have a greater focus on price, though in line with online trading trends, we predict the availability, reliability and range will continue to be greater drivers of trade. If you do decide to go down this route, your stock control capability needs to be top notch. You’ll need really responsive, up-to-the-minute stock management software to ensure you’re completely on top of your stock availability, and your product information and logistics functions will need to be similarly capable of dealing with demand. Using an order management system that will easily integrate with third party platforms is always going to make life easier if you’re entering the merchant marketplace, and you’ll need to dedicate internal resource to managing your service well – online, reputations can be won and lost very quickly through reviews and testimonials so don’t promise what you can’t deliver. It’s also important to select the marketplaces that you’ll be able to service excellently. If you can’t offer national delivery, don’t go for a national marketplace – look for the local options and stick to your established boundaries. It’s also worth establishing whether you want to focus on DIY or trade markets, or both, as different platforms offer different marketing and reach, so make sure the ones you’re signing up for fit the audience profile you know you work best with and which add the best value for your business. Services like VirtualStock are aiming to help merchants extend their ranges too through dropship, so if you’re looking to extend your range, it’s worth taking a look there too, which could offer another way to expand your offering. You may initially reject the principle of marketplace selling but do bear in mind that this is a growing trend. If your customers are heading that way – and statistics suggest that they are – then you don’t want to be left behind. Yes, customers often have a great deal of loyalty to a particular merchant, but it’s not infallible, so it’s really important to keep track of what your customers want, and be where they are. *figures from the Internet Retail Group study

“Grow your business” is a common call to action, but it’s irritatingly unspecific. It’s a vague, end-of-the-rainbow goal that lacks accountability – grow it how? When? Using what? If you want big growth, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest you need to start by thinking small. Concentrating on focused operational business systems (or FOBS, as we like to call them) is often key to solving much bigger picture problems and it’s often in addressing these details that big leaps forward can happen. Sometimes it’s about automating a repetitive or time-consuming task to free up time to focus on more important matters; sometimes it’s about making a cumbersome process more efficient or accurate. But by delving into the systems’ details, you can take control of your business from the ground up, building strong, effective foundations to support genuine business growth. Take cycling, for example. What does cycling have to do with your business? More than you might think. It’s all to do with making little changes at a granular level. Speaking about his famous approach of “marginal gains,” Sir Dave Brailsford from Team Sky said: “If you broke down everything that could impact on a cycling performance — absolutely everything you could think of — and then you improved everything little thing by 1%, when you clump it all together, you’re going to get quite a significant increase in performance.” Back in 2004, Sainsburys used a similar approach from a different angle. In a bid to achieve an extremely ambitious sales target of £2.5 billion, they started from the bottom up and worked out that if every shopper spent a small amount more each time they shopped – £1.14, to be specific – they would reach their target. They devised a clever way to encourage shoppers to try new recipes to increase basket spend a little bit each time, and sure enough, the sales curve started to rise. Rather than letting shoppers continue to shop the way they always had, they offered new ingredients and disrupted the usual autopilot shopping habits to encourage incremental spending. It has been reported that every year, Google apparently carries out 12,000 data tests to spot weaknesses; and this sort of micro-focus can be seen across many other sectors as well. In each example, the principle is the same – when you make small changes at ground level, the knock-on effects can be enormous. Enhancing the way specific business processes and systems function day-to-day will have a big impact in the longer term. So what do we mean when we talk about focused operational business systems? We mean drilling down into the day to day processes you and your employees use to go about getting stuff done, and improving them from the ground up. Take a look at this: A lot of those systems will be fairly common across many merchant businesses. And within each one, a number of things need to happen to get to a satisfactory result. Some are more obvious than others perhaps, but there will be areas which could be improved in every business. (Even ours. Shhhh.) For example, finding automated ways to match purchase invoices to purchase orders speeds up the buying process, removes much margin for error and ensures that materials and services are always being ordered at the agreed prices. It means there’s a record of every purchase which can easily be cross-referenced next time round, without having to waste precious staff hours on an arduous but essentially straightforward task. Within selling, it might mean measuring quote conversion rates and reasons, improving the speed of putting quotes in front of customers, looking at techniques to get better acceptance rates and using quotes to up- and cross-sell additional products. Little changes add up to big differences and often equate to meaningful savings across a business, in terms of time, resource and money. Stock management is heavily reliant on efficient processes. When it comes to stocktaking, measuring the time taken to do a stocktake and the period the business/branch has to close to do it often shows opportunities for improvements.  Finding methods to speed up counting or move to perpetual counting will increase efficiency, plus reduce errors and the need for recounts. Ensuring that the integration of this information with the rest of the business is instant and accurate reduces down time, improves customer service quality and increases trading opportunities. How do you know which of your systems could be improved? Take some time to think through the steps needed for each transaction, and work through them systematically. Use these three steps as a guide: Document and measure the current process Look for better processes and agree where changes should be made Systemise and automate that process Importantly, this should be an ongoing process, so once these steps are carried out, their success or impact should be analysed; can lessons be learned? Can further improvements be made? It’s a fluid evolution and one that applies to every aspect of your business. And if you need a hand – well, you know where we are. From deliveries to finance reporting, there are always business processes that will benefit from a little focus and streamlining, whether it’s automating invoice reminders or switching to hand-held scanners in the yard to reduce data entry time. There are ways every business can make small adjustment to its processes. You might be surprised at how quickly the little things add up to very significant changes.

"We have been delighted with it so far. It makes it easy for every member of the team to handle any customer enquiry, with no need to dig through lots of records.” With over 35 year’s trading experience, Henlow Building Supplies is no stranger to listening to its customers. With an increasing number requesting some sort of loyalty discount as repeat customers over the last year, the directors began a manual system of loyalty card. Without any promotion or advertising, over 100 customers have signed up for the scheme. However, it relied on each member of the sales team having a very good memory, and made for a cumbersome process, manually inputting each agreed discount. It also made human error a very real possibility. As existing clients of ours, the directors gave us a call to talk it through. The UniTrade system was instantly able to accommodate their requests, and Henlow has now been able to issue cards and key fobs to its regular customers to grant them automatic – and fully tailored – discounts. Every customer is different, and buys different quantities of different materials. Therefore Henlow is now able to offer a range of discounts to each customers based on their purchasing habits: a carpenter, for example, might qualify for a certain discount on general building supplies, but a higher discount for timber and tools. A painter and decorator will have different needs to a bathroom fitter, and so on. Each card is linked to the system, so with a simple scan or swipe, the full buying history is available to any member of the sales team, and the bespoke discount will be applied. No hassle, no manual input – and no human error. Director Chris Curson is very pleased with the time-saving system so far. He says, “We are hoping to roll it out officially in February, but have been delighted with it so far. It makes it easy for every member of the team to handle any customer enquiry, with no need to dig through lots of records.” The loyalty card is not the only new measure that Henlow has implemented recently. Within the last couple of months it has also started using the market-leading Paxar handheld scanning and printing device. ​ Stock-taking and repricing shop-floor or warehouse products is always time consuming, as we all know. The new handheld device links to the UniTrade system, so it automatically updates the whole system with whatever has been scanned from the shop floor, warehouse or stock yard. Labels for repricing can be printed off on the spot, saving a lot of time and duplication of effort. Thanks to its integration with the main system, it enables a real-time, accurate overview of all stock to be instantly accessible. Chris says, “We are moving towards a rolling stock-take system which will save us all a huge amount of time. It’s early days but so far we are very hopeful it is going to be a fantastic tool which will save time and effort, and avoid errors in copying the information across.” The device also has a purchasing function, enabling the user to instantly create purchase orders for scanned products, which again can save a lot of time and hassle. ​ Chris has also been very complimentary about our input throughout these projects. He says, “We started working with Ten-25 because we thought they offered excellent value for money, and have been really pleased with the service. The system is very flexible and has grown with us, and we have a good relationship with the people there. They are always responsive and we know they really listen to what we have to say. ​So, thank you Chris! We are delighted to be able to help our clients to provide a superior service to their own customers, and to make their lives that little bit easier.

A "guest" post by Managing Director, Ian Oldrey On a recent dog-walk, I had an encounter with a robot. I was at the local park, and my eagle-eyed hound spotted a potential threat: a tiny, tank-like machine patrolling the grounds, clearly up to something. Curious (and slightly apologetic for the commotion being caused by the dog’s outrage) I approached the man who appeared to be in charge of said machine, and asked what it was up to. “Painting the lines for the football pitch,” he replied. “That must save a lot of time,” I said. “It takes roughly 25 minutes – so actually it’s about the same amount of time it would take a person to paint it.” I let that percolate for a moment. “So – why do you use it?” I asked. Surely this was a wasteful use of valuable council resources? “Well,” he replied, “It takes two people 4 hours to measure out a pitch every time, where this can start straightaway.” And there’s the point of it all. A machine might not necessarily save a huge amount of time performing one particular task; but once a process is automated, repeated and learned, it can free up a huge amount of time in the longer-term. Time which can be put to better use on the areas where humans really add value: interacting with other humans, coming up with new ways of doing things, building communities and cultures of acceptance, innovation and improvement. So what does that mean for merchants? I am often asked about the advantages – and disadvantages – of software systems in business. And sure, they can be a headache to learn and navigate (though hopefully we’ve addressed a lot of those issues in our design and user-friendliness of Merchanter!) But there are so many ways in which a co-ordinated, well integrated ERP system can benefit your business - and your people – that it’s absolutely worth the investment, in every sense of the word. Many customers come to us who are used to using a manual or paper-based system, and can be surprised that performing a given task (raising a quote, for example) could take about the same time as it did before. But the value and hidden savings are in the next step, and the ones after that: quote to order, order to dispatch, dispatch to invoice, etc, where time is saved and errors prevented. It’s in the fact that all previous orders are easily accessible, that every part of the system is linked giving fast and direct access to the information you need, and that there is no duplicated effort because the information is updated across the whole system in real-time. When moving from legacy systems, similar time-and-effort savings are common, with the added advantages of remote training, maintenance and updates, of constantly evolving software that doesn’t require a 24 hour (or longer) shut down for a site-visit and system reboot. The compound advantages are many, and they represent enormous potential value to any merchant business. So if on the face of it you’re not convinced of the savings or the opportunities, it might be time to dig a little deeper, and consider the bigger-picture potential an industry-specific ERP system has to offer.

As may be self-evident, here at Ten-25 we’re pretty keen on technology. We’ve been watching (and using) the rapid advances of AI in both personal and professional contexts for some time. So we had to give ChatGPT a whirl (along with the rest of the world, it seems). We typed in a simple question: What are the benefits of cloud ERP systems for builders’ merchants? And this is what it came back with: “Cloud ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) can provide several benefits for builders merchants, including: Scalability: Cloud ERP can be easily scaled up or down to meet changing business needs, allowing builders merchants to add or remove users and functionality as needed. Accessibility: Cloud ERP can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, enabling remote work and collaboration among employees, suppliers, and customers. Cost-effective: Cloud ERP eliminates the need for expensive hardware and IT infrastructure, and can be paid for on a subscription basis, which can be more cost-effective than traditional on-premises ERP systems. Automatic updates: Cloud ERP systems are updated automatically, ensuring that builders merchants always have the latest features and security patches. Data security: Cloud ERP providers typically have stringent security measures in place to protect data, which can provide peace of mind for builders merchants. Integration: Cloud ERP systems can easily integrate with other business applications, such as e-commerce platforms, accounting software, and CRM systems, which can improve efficiency and provide better visibility across the entire business. Business Continuity: Cloud-based ERP systems offer a high level of availability and accessibility, which can help minimize business disruptions and ensure continuity of operations in case of an emergency. "Overall, Cloud ERP can provide builders merchants with a cost-effective, scalable, and accessible solution that can improve efficiency, security, and collaboration across the entire business.” (ChatGPT) Our verdict? It does the job, and is good for a concise and accurate summary. We feel it lacks a bit of character - a bit like synthetic foods, it gets the job done but it doesn't have a lot of flavour. We only asked it a very simple, one step question and we are well aware that it is capable of muc more complex answers and multi-step reasoning. So much so in fact, that it has already been banned from multiple educational institutions as it would be too easy for essays and assignments to just be handed over to the AI. There are also AI-detection platforms springing up to catch people trying to pass off AI-generated copy as their own, so watch out for that - we suspect search algorithms will be evolving to do exactly that too, to detect the inevitable slew of AI-generated websites and content. But the real question is, where is the potential for merchants? How could AI help merchants? While it’s quite fun to play with AI and generate instant content (the quality of which is still being assessed – but there’s no denying, there’s some use there) we think there is far more potential value that merchants will be able to get from AI-powered technology in the future. The important thing to remember is that AI should really be used as a tool to help people - not as a replacement for them. AI could definitely play a role in providing information and assistance to customers, such as when calculating the amount of a given material needed for certain jobs. For example, if you’re planning to tile your bathroom, you could simply ask it how many tiles you’d need for a certain area; or you could ask it what accessories and products you’d need, and so on. Admittedly there are already tools for that but this could be a quicker, simpler way to do it, and it could provide additional details as well to help. Online this could be a really easy way to provide help for customers needing more information before purchasing, but even in-branch it could be used via an app, digital kiosks or handheld devices to provide enhanced information. Potentially, it could prove very useful for intelligent, automated training materials and tutorials, or could help smaller businesses to create content for websites and blogs etc. Then there are things like driverless vehicles or drones for deliveries (less helpful when delivering a few tonnes of aggregates mind you!) and much, much more. We are only scratching the surface of the possibilities - you only have to read a handful of ChatGPT related posts on LinkedIn to realise what these platforms are capable of already. But it’s worth noting that: Anyone else typing in the same prompts could get identical content, so you can’t rely on it for originality (presumably this is accounted for, for the most part, but who knows) It still needs fact-checking and verifying before you post it It’s only as good as the questions you ask it, so you would still need the creativity and imagination of real people to use the tools in the best ways It’s still early days for AI, relatively speaking, so its full capability isn’t yet known Currently a lot of AI platforms are still in testing phases so can’t be relied upon at industrial scales It can lack personality and customised perspective Many people are still very skeptical about artificial intelligence so gauge the response of customers before jumping in with both feet! Like any other information source, it is potentially open to being manipulated or influenced by hefty marketing budgets, political affiliations or other aspects which could compromise its impartiality. In infancy it seems very interesting... time will tell. People still like the human touch, and good service is critical. AI shouldn’t replace people – but it can help them While the copy produced by AI platforms like ChatGPT is, on the face of it, impressive, we don’t believe it is yet at a point where it can replace humans. But it could help smaller teams to speed up content production or provide customers with quick information out of hours or online. In fact, the potential of AI for scaling up processes and access to information is enormous - and it will be a really interesting thing to watch as it develops. Content creation is just the tip of the iceberg. There are probably thousands of possible applications for AI that we haven't covered yet and it's certainly in a period of rapid development. Especially when taken into consideration alongside other technologies like augmented and virutal reality (AR and VR), machine learning and the ongoing trend of the internet of things (IoT) there's a huge amount of creative potential there to be explored. It’s always worth asking whether, just because we can do something, we should – and we don't plan on replacing anyone with a robot any time soon. But we will definitely be investigating the possibilities, and seeing where AI can help us boost efficiency and productivity in every area of the business.