CED Stone - How NetSuite and the Cloud provided a unified system
With over 40 years of industry experience, CED Stone Group is the UK's leading supplier of natural stones, paving stones and hard landscaping materials for both private and commercial landscape projects.
Established in 1978, CED is a family-run business that spans three generations; with a unique heritage of developing, growing, and investing in its product range and people.
The background
CED Stone Landscapes was struggling with the limitations of an old legacy system (XVP) which was slowing down operations in the business. Hosted on an internal server, XVP wasn’t able to handle the complexities of transactions across both the retail and commercial divisions, and unlike a cloud-hosted solution, was unable to support remote working.
Having previously tried an alternative ERP system that had failed, there was an added layer of sensitivity to the scoping phase, with a requirement to build trust and in an ERP solution that could provide the infrastructure to support all process requirements.
One cost saving for CED Stone was the digitalisation of systems previously managed in paper format. CED's printing and paper costs have been dramatically reduced!
The solution
CED Stone Landscaping needed a unified system that could provide a real-time view of all business transactions. They needed a solution that would work seamlessly across both the retail and commercial departments.
We identified NetSuite’s Wholesale Distribution edition as the right solution for this project, with Fixed Assets and Work Force built in to provide the functionality to manage all front and back-end operations in a single, fully integrated system.
With the scoping phase starting in April 2023 and a go-live target for January 2024, this was an ambitious target for a project of this complexity.
The results
The smooth running of this project, and some early quick wins, including the automation of multiple payment options, and the consolidation of all elements required for large haulage orders, helped us demonstrate the benefits NetSuite can bring.
Hitting an ambitious 2nd January go-live date, and rolling out a programme of in-person training across five UK-wide depots was also a real achievement, particularly in the shadow of the ‘holiday season’ with a lot of credit being due to the flexibility and determination of the CED Stone team who worked so collaboratively with our project team.
One incidental but huge cost saving for CED Stone was the digitalisation of systems previously managed in paper format. With PDFs available for every single action, CED’s printing and paper costs have been dramatically reduced.
“It has been a pleasure working with the CED Stone team through from initial evaluation to a successful Go Live. The whole team were dynamic and enthusiastic from the start, and I have no doubt that CED will go from strength to strength exploiting technology & business efficiency”
Julian Griffiths – Co-Founder & Director, 3RP
What happens next
Over the next six months, the new system will become fully embedded into the business, with any day-to-day queries being address by our managed services consultants who are there to support CED.
A 2nd phase for the project is in the pipeline and will be defined later in the year to gain further efficiencies from the NetSuite platform, including the introduction of a Warehouse Management System and Customer Relationship Management amongst others.
Summary
Our expertise lies in the customisation and implementation of NetSuite solutions that deliver exactly what a client requires regardless of the complexity of the brief or legacy systems that need to be retained.
Our work with CED Stone was hugely satisfying because we were able to transform a negative experience with a previous ERP solution, and quickly deliver a customised approach that gave an immediate, measurable ROI, whilst also alleviating the day-to-day pressure on the finance team.
This type of transformation is exactly what makes the ERP industry so exciting to be part of.
Testimonial
We are very pleased with the implementation of NetSuite and our partnership with 3RP, and can now look forward with confidence to developing the system further, enabling CED to adapt quickly to a constantly changing world.
