Summary
• Alerting software allows customers to access product and price lists automatically updated on your website.
• A customer portal allows access to customer-specific information only.
• Online quoting systems allow round-the-clock pricing.
• Full web shops remain a challenge for the independent timber merchant.

For today’s software suppliers, having a finger on the pulse of technological developments is critical. The most successful hardware and software isn’t reactive: often it’s created to solve a problem customers don’t know they’ve got.

As Steve Jobs, the mercurial boss of Apple, has said: “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

There’s no doubt that timber merchants and suppliers want better stock control, efficiencies and management information. But it’s not just about the quality of the information: increasingly, people want this information at their fingertips.

Seeing first-hand how merchants’ customers could access their accounts any time of the day or night via an iPhone was a highlight of Progressive Solutions’ recent customer ‘Futures Day’. The demonstration was set up to showcase the latest version of the company’s Web Track, which provides timber companies and merchants with a customised internet portal through which their customers can trade or simply work with their accounts.

The event was set up to enable Progressive and existing bisTrack users to share information and feedback, and also allowed the company to introduce several new software product releases which will soon be available alongside the core bisTrack business management software, which is used by merchants to process sales, manage stock, simplify purchasing and gather intelligence.

Progressive’s managing director, Arthur Duffy, believes it’s vital that developers keep listening to customers’ feedback and discuss new ideas. “We recognise the market is changing and we understand people want tools which will increase productivity and make their life easier,” he said. “They don’t want to buy software; they want to buy solutions to a problem.”

For example, Progressive will be introducing a new ‘catalogues’ feature this year that will allow merchants to access thousands more products outside of their main product file without impacting on the system’s performance. Using bisTrack’s eBusiness interface to move products between the catalogue and bisTrack itself, the technology employed ensures all product data is kept up to date.

Portability and accessibility are certainly something that Ian Oldrey, director of Ten-25, has seen growing in importance. “We find that the majority of our customers’ management teams want to be able to access their systems from home. It’s then a step further to say you can access your system from an iPhone or a smartphone to get that information.”

He’s also seen developments in new technology on touch screens on the trade counter. “This includes touch screens that you can operate while still wearing a glove, which is particularly relevant for the cold, dusty environments of the timber yard,” he said. “Another development has been the interactivity between systems – sharing data with customers via XML; linking into things like design packages.”

Ten-25’s UniTrade software is a trading and stock control system, which can handle the buying, selling and stocking operations of a business. It has been written specifically for timber merchants, addressing their requirements for measured product handling, pack control, milling and processing.

Mr Oldrey says implementation of the software results in fewer errors, reducing costs. “By having a system to price orders accurately, help pickers select the right stock and delivering on time there is less returned stock, and fewer credit notes raised,” he said. “Our system also helps the operator select the right product for a customer, each product is then priced according to who the customer is and the quantity taken. Because the system is offering the correct price there is reduced negotiation on the prices, leading to increased margins.”

Meanwhile, by implementing ADP Commercial Systems’ K8-Small Business Edition, Burnt Oak Builders Merchants has improved the sales process, automated stock control, enhanced its customer image, and reduced debtor days.

“Before implementing ADP’s K8-SBE, we used information technology just for producing customer statements and for accounts – everything else was written down,” said the company’s Sanjay Murji.

Many problems stemmed from manual trading and unreliable paperwork. Customers queried illegible invoices, disputed prices, and often exceeded credit limits – balances could not be checked at the sales counter – while stock control owed more to instinct than planning. Any new system had to offer margin analysis, professional-looking customer documents, support two branches, provide integrated accounts, and give comprehensive management information.

ADP K8-SBE now handles the company’s day-to-day trading needs, manages all stock for two branches, and provides integrated financial ledgers. The system also tracks product margins, controls customer discounts, and provides comprehensive business information support.

And, by monitoring customer spending, credit limits, and ensuring timely, accurate monthly accounts, K8-SBE has even improved cash flow that will help with a rapid return on investment.

“My payments are coming in much quicker than before. My average debtor days were 46 days, it’s now 37,” said Mr Murji. “One of the other main benefits is that you know exactly what your sales team is doing and how much daily profit you’re making.”

And it’s not just software specialists that are helping their timber customers. Boise Cascade, for example, has a number of customers who manufacture trussed rafters and is working with those system suppliers to improve information flow and data links between the software (like BC Calc, BC Framer and BC Quick Quote) in order to help them become more productive.

“Software has a major part to play as important tools of our trade,” said Simon Jones, business development director at Boise Cascade Engineered Wood Products. “Development of these tools to help our customers develop their, and thus our, business is fundamental, the variety of packages detailed above all help our customers in different ways.”

Ian Oldrey agrees that customers’ expectations are changing. “The merchants’ customers’ expectations of what information they can now get is rising. They will be looking to get things like account histories and credits statuses, and be able to produce quotes online. Those people who are out there buying will be looking for better service: one way to provide that service is to provide your customers with information.”