Established in 2006 and based in Alltami, North Wales, Vivid Arts distributes more than 200 lines of garden ornaments and pots to garden centers throughout the UK. Customers include the Dobbies Group as well as major independent garden centers such as Longacres and Byrkley Park. The company sources its products from manufacturers in the Far East with Vietnam, China and Thailand being the main large-scale producers of garden pots and ornamental specialties.
Vivid Arts is a superb example of how well a custom-designed IT system backed by excellent support can help a company develop its fledgling business into one that is projecting a turnover of £2 million its first year of operation. The company started out with a mission to achieve a £4-£5 million revenue business within three years of start-up. Syspro supports this journey by providing the company with the confidence to press on with its business goals.
One of the factors in selecting Syspro was the opportunity to work with one system from the outset which would evolve with Vivid Arts as it grew. The Syspro solution was up and running in only six months.
Because of the seasonality and competitive nature of the market, having the right items in stock is vital. Orders need to be placed eight months in advance to ensure adequate supplies are in the warehouse ready to be shipped to customers.
Syspro provides Vivid Arts with the ability to monitor and manage its standard costs. This is critical as these can vary because the cost of shipping from the Far East is volatile due to fluctuations in the value of the US dollar. Unit costs are easier to deal with as the cost of pots and ornaments is more predictable. Syspro generates clear overview reports for these standard costs, enabling the management team to keep a close eye on cashflow and stock.
The orders come in via fax and are keyed in. Pricing is already set up within the system and includes discount schemes. These then sit on the books as unplanned orders. Pick notes are generated for Vivid Arts’ third-party warehousing partner. The warehouse uses these paper notes to pick from the stock. Larger orders go out on trucks and smaller consignments are shipped using the Christian Salvesen shared-user network.
Looking beyond the initial simple usage of Syspro, it is clear that it offers a solid system for Vivid Arts’ supply chain management. What’s more, it’s ready for future development.
The Syspro solution was up and running within six months. The first step was for Vivid Arts to drive sales order processing right through to cash collection, and the company is now able to monitor and manage standard costs. Syspro generates clear overview reports for these costs, enabling the management team to keep a close eye on cashflow and stock.
“Our use of Syspro may appear relatively simplistic, but the system comes into its own in delivering management information. This is crucial for our business as we have to maintain a careful balance.”
— Richard Owen, Operations Director, Vivid Arts
From the outset, Vivid Arts had a strategic plan for rapid growth. As a distributor of garden ornaments and pots, it faced the seasonal and highly competitive nature of the market, so maintaining accurate stock levels was critical. In addition, the company needed to manage volatility in the cost of shipping from the Far East territories caused by fluctuations in the value of the US dollar.
Vivid Arts elected to implement an ERP solution from an early stage rather than install an accounts package. Following an assessment of systems available on the market, Syspro was selected with a suite of core modules including Purchase Order and Sales Order Processing, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Cash Book, General Ledger, Inventory Management, Bill of Materials and Report Writer.
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