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BUSINESS AUTOMATION TRANSFORMATION

IntCeram's digital transformation delivered a great new ERP system for their growing business

Before the digital transformation project

  • IntCeram distribute imported tiles across the UK and Ireland, and recent success had led to them opening a second shop in West London
  • They used Xero to run their business operations, but found that when it came to inventory, it had limitations
  • Xero alone couldn’t do drop-shipping, inventory reporting, large product catalogs, stock and hand measured in SQM, or outsourced warehousing

IntCeram's top priorities for the transformation

  • IntCeram’s accountant, Paramount, recommended Bluehub for a pre-implementation consultancy
  • Bluehub began an in-depth process with IntCeram to gather requirements, processes, and information about their current operations to understand what would work best for them
  • This careful process revealed that DEAR Systems, now called Cin7 Core, would work perfectly for their needs
  • They used real data from IntCeram to build a proof-of-concept
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IntCeram's story

Founded in 1998, Intceram are tile importers, importing mostly from Turkey, Spain and Brazil. Based in Leeds, they distribute across the UK and Ireland – and their recent success led to them opening a second shop in West London in 2017.

Prior to contacting BlueHub, IntCeram solely used Xero to run their business. But as their business grew, they found they were faced with limitations. IntCeram had operations and requirements which Xero alone could not fulfill. This included: dropshipping, reporting, large product catalog, stock on hand measured in SQM, and out-sourced warehousing.

Cin7 Core proves the perfect operational hub

Following IntCeram’s accountant Paramount’s advice, Bluehub visited Intceram for a pre-implementation consultancy.

Working with IntCeram, Bluehub gathered their requirements, processes and information about their current system to help build an idea of what would be a best fit for them.

We knew Cin7 Core would work perfectly for their needs – and to demonstrate the system most effectively, we asked them to send us some data. We then entered this data into the system, helping to realistically show how it would work for them in the future,” explains Bluehub founder, Matt Flanagan.

“Something we had to consider and work around during this implementation was the use of drop shipping in the company,” Matt says. “The process of ordering these goods was manual, which meant that their staff had to know which products were drop shipped in order to raise a purchase order with the supplier.”

Drop-shipping has been made completely automated with Cin7 Core

Thanks to the experienced team at Bluehub, the implementation was a complete success.

“The guys at BlueHub were very friendly. Nothing ever seemed too much trouble. When we started to work with Cin7 Core, we realized there were additional things we needed, and they looked into it straight away to adapt to our needs,” says Rebecca from IntCeram.

After the implementation of Cin7 Core, dropshipping has been made completely automated. Once a dropship product is ordered, Cin7 Core generates a purchase order automatically to the supplier, cutting out all the manual work and removing the possibility of human error.

Now that Cin7 Core has been fully implemented and Intceram have moved onto Bluehub’s support program, IntCeram feel confident in their future.

“Bluehub and Cin7 Core have helped the business massively,” says Rebecca. “We haven’t had the system very long, but from what we have seen, it’s been very useful and it’s saved us a lot of time. We can print reports and it’s helped us to see how we want to progress in the next few months.” A key feature that was needed for IntCeram was detailed reporting, and Rebecca says that her manager “likes that he can see how much particular customers have spent compared to previous months.”

Overall, the company is thrilled with the implementation and how it lets them get on with business. “Cin7 Core is very straightforward to use and has really helped save us a lot of time and stopped duplications,” Rebecca says. “You can’t send out products you haven’t got, so it saves problems later if you realize you haven’t got anything.”

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What was achieved – the results

Automated processes and reducing potential errors

  • With Bluehub’s Cin7 Core implementation, IntCeram have completely automated dropshipping
  • When a product is ordered, Cin7 Core automatically generates a purchase order for the supplier, cutting out manual work and reducing the possibility for human error
  • Intceram now have access to detailed reporting, allowing them to analyze customer spend over time
  • Bluehub provide IntCeram with ongoing support and training
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Overview of the integrated inventory and accounting system

Cin7 Core API integrations tile

Sales and sales channels

Cin7 Core tile

ERP, inventory and operations

Cin7 Core WMS tile

Inventory control and fulfillment

logo5

Accounting and compliance

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System advantages

  • One well integrated system where everything and every stage of production, sales, and fullfilment is efficient managed and accurate tracked in the system
    Real-time, consistent inventory across all stages of production from raw materials to finished goods and delivered orders. This eliminates waste and improved forecasting and cash flow management.
  • Integrated with Cin7 Core, Scaling Inventory Accounting with Xero
    Xero automates tasks that used to take up a lot of time. From reconciling bank transactions to sending invoice reminders, it saves time and reduces human error.
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The major contributors to
this project's success

Darren Franks
Darren Franks ERP Specialist, BlueHub

ERP Specialist, BlueHub Darren Franks

  • Bluehub Dear/CIN7 Core Expert
  • Lead the functional scoping and defined the configuration of the system
  • Set clear expectations and boundaries as to what the platform would and wouldn’t do
  • Defined the working practices with the client

Areas of contribution

  • BlueHub Dear/CIN7 Core Expert
  • Lead the functional scoping and defined the configuration of the system
  • Set clear expectations and boundaries as to what the platform would and wouldn’t do
  • Defined the working practices with the client
Richard Lay
Richard Lay Paramount

Paramount Richard Lay

  • Lead the Accounting side of the project
  • Reviewed the Accounting Requirements
  • Defined the account mappings between Cin7 Core & Xero
  • Tested the integration between the two systems once live

Areas of contribution

  • Lead the Accounting side of the project
  • Reviewed the Accounting Requirements
  • Defined the account mappings between Cin7 Core & Xero
  • Tested the integration between the two systems once live
Rebecca Sharpe
Rebecca Sharpe Office Manager

Office Manager Rebecca Sharpe

  • Defined the new working practices
  • Engaged with re-defining the new end to end processes
  • Rolled out the new system, processes and associated change management to the rest of the business
  • Team & Business were happy with the change!

Areas of contribution

  • Defined the new working practices
  • Engaged with re-defining the new end to end processes
  • Rolled out the new system, processes and associated change management to the rest of the business
  • Team & Business were happy with the change!
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