Case Studies

Trutex

Downloads

↓ Trutex Case Study

Trutex are Britain's leading independent supplier of schoolwear, with over 130 years of expertise.  They offer a comprehensive range of garments in quality fabric from shirts and blouses to rugby shirts and tracksuits, with a focus on comfort, durability and value for money.  Based in Lancashire, Trutex distributes through a national chain of independent retailers, school shops and Trutex Direct, where consumers can purchase direct through a mail-order catalogue or website.

The relationship with CCL began back in 2005, when Trutex called upon CCL to assist with a full IT options and strategy review.  Having considered the normal routes such as the large accountancy firms and having also worked with small one man band consultants in the past, Trutex were looking for a different offering that would bring together the positive features of both of these types of organisation.  According to Trutex's MD, David Storey "It was important that the consultancy that we chose to assist us was totally unbiased and were able to develop a full understanding of what Trutex were trying to achieve."

Trutex had recognised that in their journey to prosperity, they were becoming increasingly IT reliant.  The company had reached a stage where they were looking to consolidate and integrate all of their business operations, whilst retaining the flexibility to continually adapt.  Trutex were keen to implement a long term solution that would be able to grow and develop alongside any changes in the marketplace.

David says "The quality of the document produced by CCL as an invite to tender was excellent and all applications were vetted extremely thoroughly.  A lot of work went into making sure that the project ran smoothly."

The technology solution that was recommended by CCL was eMerge, a system which specialises in providing eBusiness and ERP solutions to manufacturing and commercial organisations.  It encompasses every aspect of the business from distribution and stock management to internal administration.  This will help to streamline the business in a number of ways.  For example, by allowing Trutex to operate on line with all it's trading partners where appropriate.

The original go live date was for March 2007, but this has now been pushed back to October, due to the fact that the summer months represent the busiest period for both Trutex and the schoolwear trade and it was essential that there was no disruption to their service.  Therefore the project is currently in the stages of being handed over to the Trutex team for any specific modifications and last minute adjustments.

David summarises the project and the role played by CCL; "Very professional, methodical and thorough, CCL are the right kind of company to work with when considering this type of project.  It is important to engage a consultant who has experience of working on this type of project and CCL were able to provide just that."