Creative Tops
Overview
Back in 2002, leading provider of co-ordinated design houseware products to major high street multiples, independent retailers and export customers, Creative Tops recognised that its existing ERP system could no longer cope with the company’s successful growth.
“As a result, we required a solution which would support our continuing expansion, both in the UK and the Far East,” confirms finance director, Alex Mathews. “In particular, the new system had to enable comprehensive and transparent management control of what is a highly complex business.”
Following implementation of a Lakeview solution, Creative Tops has secured significant efficiency gains throughout the business. In the warehouse, for example, stock accuracy has improved dramatically, from around 60% to 95+%: at the same time, the warehouse team has successfully managed a four-fold increase in volume, with little change in staffing levels.
Challenge
In replacing the existing ERP system, which offered limited scalability in managing stock control valuation, sales order processing and invoicing, the chosen solution had to meet a number of tough demands.
Most importantly, it had to be able to support a much larger number of users, with the current 50 reflecting a fivefold increase in four years. In addition, it had to provide: a direct EDI link; true multi-currency functionality; an ‘any pallet anywhere’ stock control system; and retrospective stock valuation – essential in a company with a major export business.
Solution
“The Lakeview solution scored highly in a number of areas,” says Mathews. “First, it offered an elegant Windows-based front end display, similar in many ways to our existing system yet with much broader functionality. As a result, our staff could move over to the new system in just a few days.
“Similarly, the ability to import and export data simply and easily offered improved reporting capability. And, critically, as Lakeview authors its own software, we would be able to influence its development in ensuring the system continued to meet our evolving requirements.”
Results
As part of a smooth transition the new system went live in January 2004, with no dual running, and the subsequent year-end accounts were produced combining both sets of data with no integration problems or delays.
Within a year, Creative Tops began to explore other functionality within the Lakeview system, for example using the purchase order system together with the landed cost module. Automating the previously manual method of landed cost calculations has proved especially valuable, as the company now handles over 700 containers annually.
With ‘any pallet anywhere’ stock control, Creative Tops has all but eliminated stock duplication and today consistently achieves on-target 95%+ stock accuracy. This in turn has allowed the company to reduce stock levels, at the same time improving both its supply chain management and customer service delivery.
“The Lakeview team backs all this up with highly responsive support in dealing swiftly with any issues which arise,” Mathews adds, “and their proactive approach is currently reflected in the way they are addressing with us the demands of the new waste packaging regulations.”