ImagesMagUK_August_20

www.images-magazine.com 76 images AUGUST 2020 INDUSTRY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS This month, three decorators talk to Images about how their software systems are working out for them Telling it like it is: Industry software Buccaneer Group: DecoNetwork Bryan Johnson, sales director Tell us a bit about your business At Buccaneer we try to do everything that’s asked of us and maybe a little more. We started out just doing schoolwear, but now we have expanded into doing workwear and sportswear. We also engrave trophies and print flyers and signs. When did you buy DecoNetwork? We got DecoNetwork last year when we were going through some large changes to the business and felt like we needed to pair this with a system that could handle these changes and any other ones we could decide to go through during these turbulent times. What other systems have you looked at? We have used about 10 different software systems over the years, but always struggled with storing images and customer approvals. Why did you choose DecoNetwork? I chose it mainly for the artwork approval function and artwork storage. I needed my employees and I to be able to understand what we were doing on a day-to-day basis. I also liked that I could watch what was happening with my business on my tablet from home or holiday. Bryan Johnson of the Buccaneer Group loves the workflow of DecoNetwork What do you think are its main advantages? I love the workflow of DecoNetwork, it has set out the whole business method for us. We quote with the pre-uploaded UK suppliers, add the embroidery or print and send it off for approval from the customer. Once they’ve approved it I send a payment request and it automatically goes into production. At the same time the goods required go into a PO from the relevant suppliers and tell production what needs doing. The other big advantage is that the included website is easily controlled by us and you don’t need a degree in web design. Castle Printwear: ETrader What’s it like to use? The system can be hard to master as it has to cover a huge range of users. My best tip is to tailor the software to your needs. What’s your advice to others thinking of purchasing a new online design and business software system? Make sure that the software that they are switching to is going to be accessible to all the people using it – not all of them will have an IT and computer science degree. www.bucc.group Jenny and Courtney Vaughan Tell us a bit about your business We have premises in Castle Donington where customers can come and see us, discuss their requirements, get advice, and see workwear, PPE and school uniforms, and samples of print and embroidery. We have just invested in two more embroidery machines in addition to a Roland print-and-cut unit. When did you get ETrader? As we went into lockdown, we realised that, as a husband and wife team, we were still able to go to work, but our customers couldn’t come to us. We’d discussed implementing an ecommerce site for about 12 months, and this was the push we needed. We contacted ETrader in April this year and had a live site taking orders in June. It cost about £2,000 to set up. Why did you go with ETrader? We chose ETrader for several reasons: The site was built for us and tailored to our needs, and it’s a template site that has the garments from all of our suppliers with a pricing matrix, which means our catalogue is always up to date with the garments we want to

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