Leading UK and European specialist footwear company, Stuart Marsh Shoes, has invested in a fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution from K3 Syspro (K3), as part of a wider initiative to support future business growth across the whole group.
Stuart Marsh Shoes, which is the parent company of Europe’s and the UK’s largest bridal footwear brand, Rainbow Club; British lifestyle footwear brand, Chatham; and specialist private label company, Sterling & Hunt, designs and manufactures a range of bespoke footwear collections for a number of established high street stores. The company expects SYSPRO to achieve greater traceability of all company processes, from design through to distribution. The investment comes after the company’s previous legacy system reached end-of-life.
Philip Marsh, Director at Stuart Marsh Shoes, commented: “Our business offers a complete footwear package from conceptualisation to manufacture and distribution for our customers, so complete traceability and visibility of data throughout the entire manufacturing process is crucial. K3 has provided a fully integrated ERP solution which communicates data effectively throughout the whole manufacturing process, meaning that we can streamline our core processes and improve efficiency across the business.”
The multi-million pound family-run business has enjoyed a period of significant growth over recent years thanks to the success of its sell-out high-street styles. The company is expecting go-live on SYSPRO in April this year and as part of its growth ambitions, Stuart Marsh has also appointed an internal IT manager to aid implementation and user adoption of the new system.
Philip Marsh said: “Our previous ERP solution no longer supported our business needs. It was very labour-intensive, and resulted in many hours of data input from staff. By implementing SYSPRO, we are no longer tied up with data entry, and staff are freed up to spend more time on helping to drive future business growth.
“It was important to select an ERP solution that complements our existing business processes. After K3 presented us with a demonstration of SYSPRO, it became clear that it is a solution designed for manufacturing businesses like ours. We are confident that this scalable solution will enable us to achieve even further growth.”