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Wholesale firms need to address growing pains as optimism in the sector rises says report

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With businesses returning their attention to growth as the economic climate becomes brighter, they will need the right tools in place to cope with the strains caused by expansion, according to a new report out today. Access Group’s whitepaper ‘Easing the Growing Pains: Resolving the Challenges of Expansion with Technology’ examines the problems commonly encountered and the solutions available to organisations.

Ian Roper, divisional director for supply chain solutions for Access Group comments, “The dark clouds of the credit crunch may still be fresh in the memory for some but with the economic outlook becoming brighter companies are once again turning their attention to growth.

“There is also an increased sense that there are reasons to be optimistic in the wholesale sector with the trend of consumers buying ‘little and often’ generating more demand for convenience shopping. Shifting customer preferences, such as a desire for local provenance, are also creating further opportunities to expand the product range.”

In an increasingly digitised world much of this demand is also coming from online channels – with wholesale companies reporting double digit growth from this revenue stream. A rapid increase in turnover can, however, create headaches for companies that have not put systems in place in order to cope with an expansion of business. In addition, a lack of visibility of business information can result in the organisation being slow to react to changes in the market.

“I often hear management complain they are making decisions based on retrospective data. It can take 10 to 15 days to close the books and when they are making decisions the information can be almost a month old,” said Andy Brown, KPMG lead management consultant for IT in the North of England and Scotland. “When we are talking about wholesale businesses, especially those operating online, they need to have this information on a daily basis. They need to react to changes in demand with speed.”

Dr Thanos Papadopoulos, associate professor and senior lecturer in information systems at Sussex Business School, claims that enterprise systems that provide ‘one version of the truth’ allow businesses to provide a better overall customer service – and prevent departments from operating with blinkered focus on their own functions.  

Ian commented, “If companies hope to avoid potential growing pains, and drive greater profits from increased turnovers, they will need tools which allow them to take advantage of potential economies of scale. With margins tight in the wholesale sector, expanding businesses will need to be better at finding efficiencies, identifying fast moving product lines and ensuring customer service operates as smoothly as possible.”

For a copy of the whitepaper contact natalie.smith@theaccessgroup.com

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About Access:

Access is a leading author of fully integrated business management software. The portfolio spans solutions for ERP, finance, HR, Payroll, warehousing, business intelligence, professional service automation and manufacturing. More than 10,000 UK businesses and not-for-profit organisations use Access solutions to improve their performance, profitability and drive growth, unlocking their business potential through improved business insight.

Vertical focus and industry-specific solutions differentiate Access in the market and templated solutions make for rapid and easy deployments. Using Access software to automate operations, streamline processes and share real-time business information anytime, anywhere, businesses can benefit from significant performance improvements.

Access is one of the top five fastest growing UK software developers in The Sunday Times Buyout Track 100 2012 and featured in last year’s Profit Track 100. On-going commitment to excellence, customers and employees has also placed the company among the UK’s top employers in The Sunday Times’ 100 ‘Best Companies to Work For’ 2011.

Accreditations and memberships:

  • Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA)
  • Access’ software is recognised by HM Revenue & Customs

Awards:

  • The Innovation Award finalist at the National Business Awards 2013
  • Enabler of the Year finalist at the National Business Awards 2012
  • Software Product of the Year finalist at the British Accountancy Awards 2012
  • ICT in Manufacturing finalist at the Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2012
  • Inclusion in The Sunday Times Buyout Track 100 list (47th)
  • Inclusion in The Sunday Times Profit Track 100 list (63rd)
  • Inclusion in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list for mid-market companies (85th)
  • Accountancy Age Award 2010 for ‘Software Package of the Year’

Media information:

Helen Carpenter
Head of Group PR
Access Group
T: +44 (0) 1206 322575 / 07833 936311
F: +44 (0) 1206 322956
E: helen.carpenter@theaccessgroup.com      
W: http://www.theaccessgroup.com

Access.201113.HC.GrowingPain

Tags:

distribution wholesale KPMG access group Thanos Papadopoulos Sussex Business School WMS software WMS systems

Quotes

If companies hope to avoid potential growing pains, and drive greater profits from increased turnovers, they will need tools which allow them to take advantage of potential economies of scale.
Ian Roper, Divisional Director for Supply Chain Solutions, Access Group