K3 wins major contract to supply end-to-end solution to world leading ceramic tableware manufacturer Dudson

The Dudson Group, a world leader and pioneer in ceramic tableware, has chosen SYSPRO from leading enterprise software company K3 Business Technology Group (K3) to support the evolution and expansion of its burgeoning business.

The notable order is for a comprehensive ERP solution that integrates all areas of Dudson's operations both in the UK and overseas, giving the management team a clear view of the entire business.

Dudson has elected to include a comprehensive suite of SYSPRO modules in its fully integrated ERP system, including Advanced Warehouse Management, CRM, Time & Attendance, Shop floor Data Collection, Payroll & Personnel and Manufacturing. SYSPRO was installed in October 2007 with a go-live target for April 2008. The implementation will help to achieve Dudson's goals to optimise the whole of the company's operations boosting productivity, increasing profitability and supporting its ISO management framework.

We have high expectations from SYSPRO and we plan to achieve a range of objectives as we move forward with the system. This includes a significant boost to our customer service levels, higher profitability through increased efficiencies, speedier access to information, and greater employee satisfaction through the use of intuitive software. We also see this as an opportunity for mutual success, with K3 gaining our custom and with us benefiting from K3's expertise, says Ervin Davis, Strategic Support Director, Dudson Ltd.

Through the use of SYSPRO Dudson will see the immediate benefits from total visibility of information that will allow the company to work smarter, as well as gain greater control of its operations. SYSPRO will enable in-depth analysis of the company's business and in particular allow the firms management to pinpoint the most profitable lines and easily measure turnover and customer service levels. The SYSPRO system will also standardise Dudson's IT infrastructure and optimise communications between each department within the organisation.

The Stoke-on-Trent based company chose SYSPRO to replace its ageing Siemens Nixdorf system which over the years has been augmented with several other information sources such as spreadsheets and personal records. The company urgently needed a single data source and selected K3's solution from among a host of other competitors. SYSPRO was singled out as the most flexible and well supported package.

The K3 team won us over with its approach. The team listened and questioned everything from the outset; not one of them made any assumptions. The recommendation for SYSPRO was based completely on what we needed and the outcomes we desired. The teams feedback and interaction with us gave us great confidence in K3 knowing exactly what was required and will be required in the future, says Ervin Davis.

The Staffordshire tableware manufacturer leads the way in design, product performance and manufacturing technology by operating to the management standard of ISO 9001:2000 for consistency in quality. Every piece produced in its Finest Vitrified range carries the BS4034 Kitemark for quality of the manufacturing process. Not surprisingly the company issued an extremely exacting brief for its new ERP system to ensure that it would underpin every area of Dudson's business in line with its key performance indicators.

Without a shadow of a doubt, SYSPRO will enable us to move our processes up to the high standards we achieve for our products.. SYSPRO ERP is a major investment and we would not have made it if we did not expect a return on investment, concludes Ervin Davis.

About K3 Business Technology Group

K3 Business Technology Group employs 90 people at its Manchester head office and its branches throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, advanced planning and scheduling, warehouse management, human resources and e-business. SYSPRO is used by some 12,000 sites across the world. K3 Business Technology Group is part of K3 Business Technology PLC which is a global leader in providing next-generation enterprise software for businesses in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors. With more than 3,000 customer installations in over 30 countries, K3 is recognised as a safe, innovative and reliable provider of world-class solutions, backed by world-class service.