Taylor & Sons

Timber Merchants

Customer: Taylor & Sons

Site link: @taylorandsonstimbermerchants

Kerridge CS supporting growth at Taylor & Sons

Ian Taylor’s early career was the perfect education for setting up his own timber merchant business in 2012. Working for a timber importer and processor on the Isle of Dogs he was immersed in the logistics of how timber came in to the UK from Poland, Canada and South America, as well as the machining process. His next job with a timber merchant taught him another aspect of the industry as well as providing valuable product knowledge about sheet and insulation materials.

Before moving into his current premises, Ian ran Taylor & Sons from home and stored his timber in a range of rented farm buildings and at the local cricket club. “In the early days my sons used to help me load up deliveries for the next morning,” he remembered. “In the evenings we could be seen walking the lengths of timber across the pitch as we weren’t allowed to drive the lorry over the grass near the club!”

Taylor & Sons started by supplying timber and sheet materials to contacts Ian had made over the years and still focuses on supplying 100 or so small to medium sized builders, including specialist basement contractors working in and around London. “We’ve now been in our unit since 2016,” said Ian, “and I’m proud of how the business has grown organically since the early days. I employ a driver to help with deliveries now and I’m looking to take on another sales person shortly so I can concentrate on developing the business further.”

Ian now uses K8 for sales, purchasing, accounting and stock control. He said that since he’s entered all his stock on the system it’s been an eye opener to see the true value of what the business holds. He said, “I estimate the system has made the business 50% more efficient than it was before. Invoicing used to take me two or three weeks, now it’s done in less than a day. To me that time saved is priceless.”

Ian also plans to use the system to help him set and monitor sales targets when he takes on his new salesperson. He can log in to the browser-based system remotely allowing him to work from home when he needs to. Quotes and purchase orders are emailed directly from the system and the business intelligence K8 provides is delivering further cost savings. “The system showed me how many deliveries we were making to the same sites so I’ve been able to make savings by planning my deliveries more efficiently. Also I’ve got a much clearer picture of the stock we hold and, by checking it against sales history, rather than having stock hanging around for months, I’m starting to buy much more efficiently which is helping our cash flow.”

Results:

• Business now 50% more efficient
• Invoicing completed in less than a day
• Business intelligence has led to cost savings
• Improved cash flow through more efficient buying

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