Screwfix Direct selects Esker to automate order and supply management processes

Screwfix Direct Ltd, the UKs largest direct and online supplier of tools and fixings to the trade, has selected Eskers DeliveryWare Solution to enable automation of its order and supply management processes and provide up-to the-minute sales information to the companys senior executives via SMS text messaging.

Screwfix Direct - part of Kingfisher plc, the worlds third-largest home improvement business - wanted to implement an integrated process for direct dispatch of non-stock items, such as conservatories, from manufacturers to customers. The company selected Eskers DeliveryWare Solution to enable the faxing of direct dispatch orders to suppliers.

David Alderman, IT Technical Support Analyst at Screwfix Direct, said: "Eskers DeliveryWare allows us to be instantaneous with our order and supply management communications. Effectively, no-one at Screwfix has to manually prepare and print the order in a fax format, walk to the fax machine and send it to the supplier its all done completely automatically, saving us time, labour and cost."

As a fast-moving online business, it is vital for Screwfix Direct to provide up-to-the-minute sales information to the companys senior executives so they can react to market conditions and trends. Esker is enabling this by delivering text messages containing daily sales figures direct to their mobile phones. Financial information from the companys Order Management System is extracted into an email message containing key sales data from the days trading. This is sent to Eskers DeliveryWare, which automatically extracts the data, inserts it into an SMS text message and sends it to the companys executives through Netsizes mobile Internet message routing.

Alderman explained: "We run a process overnight to calculate the business net income, and it reaches our executives cell phones by 7.30am, so they know how much business has been done before they even leave their homes in the morning. They can keep an eye on the pulse of the business, react immediately to whats happening and take the appropriate actions according to their roles."