Builders merchants | News

Software on track to easing the timber and roofing supplier into expansion

Huntingdon Timber & Roofing is to implement bisTrack software.

An independent timber and roofing merchant which offers grading, cutting, planing and moulding facilities, the company is just four years old.

Managing director David Biddle explains: "Up until now, our sales and stock control systems have been totally manual. We were drowning in paper and, as a business turning over £2.2m, the time had come for us to invest in business management software."

Margin enhancement

Mr Biddle looked at two other systems in addition to bisTrack.

He also visited a similar sized builders' merchant already using bisTrack where he witnessed its impressive functionality.

He says: "I fully intend to use bisTrack to its full capacity.

"I can see how it could be tempting to use just the essential features of a management system, but I see bisTrack as a margin enhancement tool and I'm determined to get the most out of it."

One of the primary reasons Mr Biddle chose bisTrack was because it's a Microsoft Windows based product and it will be easy to train staff to use it.

For anyone used to using Outlook and other Microsoft applications, every bisTrack screen looks familiar and using it is intuitive.

Mr Biddle continues: "Another reason we went for bisTrack was because it's so `timber friendly'.

"Timber stock can be difficult to manage and I like the way bisTrack lets you book out a piece of four-by-eight from stock, for example, do whatever you like with it and still sell it as a piece of four-by-eight!"

Proof of delivery

Mr Biddle was also impressed with Scan Track, bisTrack's optional module which brings scanned documents into the system, and which is especially useful for managing signed proof of delivery notes.

These are automatically related to the order and other associated documents, and can be recalled instantly during queries over deliveries.

Mr Biddle says he will seriously consider implementing Scan Track when bisTrack itself is fully established.

Huntingdon Timber & Roofing's customer base is predominantly trade, although around 15-20% of sales (mainly decking and fencing) are to retail customers.

Mr Biddle is now seriously considering setting up a second branch which he was unwilling to do without fully operational software. "This was another reason for choosing bisTrack now", he explained, "bisTrack will make our expansion programme so much easier because I will be able to use the system to control both branches from my office here in Huntingdon.

© 2008, reproduced courtesy of Builders' Merchants News.