Intact Software ‘lays’ the right business management solution for TileStyle

TileStyle is Ireland's leading supplier of ceramic and porcelain tiles, natural stone and related products.

Established in 1980 by Jim McNaughton, the Dublin based company originally supplied the domestic market with bathroom and kitchen tiles. Recently, TileStyle has experienced strong growth in this sector and quickly expanded its services to cater for every aspect of the building industry.

Operating in this artistically and industrially vibrant market, the company strives to bring the latest designs and product innovations to its customers with a range that includes ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, outdoor paving and walling, mosaics, metal tiles, glass tiles, marble and granite, and swimming pool tiles. In the company's short history, TileStyle has grown to become the leader in supplying tiles to the Irish market, with exports to the UK, the US and further afield.

The Need to Change
As a fast growing company in a highly competitive market, TileStyle had outgrown the capabilities of its previous accounting system. Following its continuing expansion, its business system requirements became more complex and the accounting system struggled to accommodate these increasingly demanding needs. Also, in the run up to the Euro Changeover in 2002, TileStyle's accounting system did not have the capacity to adequately cater for the euro conversion.

To deal with the company's growth and the planned Euro Changeover, TileStyle found that its existing package required extensive modifications and was not a suitable platform to move the business forward. Finding a solution that was flexible and user friendly became paramount to the company's continued growth. TileStyle narrowed three packages from Sage, Exchequer and Intact Software as potential options needing further investigation. In the end, Intact Software’s business management software solution proved to be the only solution capable of fully meeting the needs of the company.

Andrew Crotty, Director of TileStyle commented, "Sage, after extensive in-house examination by staff, was unable to meet our needs in a number of critical areas, for example Batch Control and certain areas of Point of Sale and it was unwilling to make the bespoke modifications required by us. There was also a very high cost issue in relation to Sage. Exchequer also turned out to be very costly and the package didn’t offer the same level of flexibility as the Intact Software solution". The main reason for selecting Intact Software, as Crotty explains, was down to the flexibility of the software, "and the willingness of the developers to meet our vital and bespoke requirements in relation to stock control and point of sale.”

Project and Implementation Process
The implementation took approximately two months to develop, test and install, with the project finishing on time for its go live date in November 2001. During this period Intact Software’s consultants met with key personnel to develop a plan for implementing the software package and to identify key milestones in the project such as training dates, hardware installation and the go live date. Next, data conversion and testing took place and the consultants designed the necessary forms and reports that TileStyle required. Extensive training ensured all relevant users received maximum exposure to the system before it went live to encourage immediate use once fully implemented. TileStyle staff immediately took to the system, and Intact Software consultants were available on site to provide additional training and deal with any queries to ensure the transition from the old system to the new one was completely smooth and stress free. During this time, the company developed an ‘excellent' relationship with Intact Software and Crotty was particularly impressed with the level of service and dedication that occurred when the company experienced some unforeseen hardware issues in the first week of the project.

The Test of Time
More than ten years on, TileStyle is still using Intact Software’s business management solution as its system of choice. Since the initial implementation TileStyle has branched out into bathrooms and moved premises to boast Europe’s largest tile showroom. This growth meant many modifications had to be made to the company’s business processes. With the software’s extreme level of flexibility, TileStyle was able to adapt the software to meet the organisation’s new requirements.

The flexible approach has enabled TileStyle to easily increase its number of users from 15 to 80. This has allowed the staff at TileStyle to access vital information with minimal effort, driving the ability to make fully informed decisions faster, increasing pro-activity and staff efficiency.

“Previously, our processes were very manual. Accuracy was a problem, as was invoicing. Stock control was a nightmare and our customer service was affected. Intact Software’s solution changed that completely”, explained Crotty.

In today’s competitive business environment, maintaining a strong relationship with customers, suppliers and prospects is vital for the growth and success of a business. In November 2010, TileStyle decided to add a CRM module to enable its sales team to record, in a centralised location all correspondence, communication and essential information regarding existing customers, prospects and suppliers across the organisation.

TileStyle was able to adapt the ‘prospects’ management capability of the CRM module to enable its sales team to upload detailed information on the ‘project’ they were working on. For example, details such as the name of the architect or contractor, materials and square metres could now be uploaded to identify the needs of the customer more effectively, efficiently and increasing the understanding of their specific requirements. The sales team also used the renamed ‘project’ management tool to build prospect relationships by profiling potential customers into categories and forecast progression and closing dates. Overall, it offered TileStyle an accurate, real-time view of the businesses pipeline.

With a centralised database of customer information, TileStyle employees can access customer details and history instantly from anywhere in the organisation, allowing warehouse staff to track each individual order via its ‘current status’. “It was not a costly add-on and has been a great investment for us,” said Crotty. “The team were resistant at first but have since fully embraced the system due to its effective and efficient nature and how easy it is to use. Over the years Intact Software’s system has saved TileStyle immeasurable man hours.”

Moving forward
As TileStyle develops and expands its global business, it will continue to further enhance its processes with Intact Software’s business management software solution. TileStyle will continue to utilise the software’s powerful and flexible features and benefits to drive continuous increases in productivity, pro-activity and profits.

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