Clothing and Textiles Case Studies

Customer Service Levels “Best Ever” from Rowlinson Knitwear

Rowlinson Knitwear, the Stockport-based Schoolwear provider, have revolutionized the level of service they are able to offer their customers with the introduction of their PCI System. Formed in 1935, with an aim to provide high quality school knitwear to independent retailers , Rowlinsons have continued to grow year on year to such an extent that systems introduced in the early stages of the business could not keep up with their continued expansion.

Using PCI’s advanced Management Information System, which has been designed specifically for the Clothing and Textile Industry, Rowlinson are now able to manage all aspects of their business. Donald Moore, Managing Director at Rowlinson Knitwear, says “...we place a great deal of importance on the level of support services we can supply to our customers. Growth in our business over the last few years meant we needed a computer system that would enable us to provide our customers with up to the minute information on the status of their orders and the PCI System has enabled us to do this. We continually monitor the level of Service we provide to our Customers by independent feedback from them, and this shows that with the help of the PCI System, we are hitting the stringent targets we set ourselves in this area. The results of our latest Customer Satisfaction Survey (found in issue 4 of our newsletter at www.rowlinson-knitwear.com), shows that 93% of customers rated us as good/excellent “.

A particular problem was Stock Control Management. Using the highly sophisticated and unique cross reference searching system, built into the PCI solution, customer service staff can view all aspects of customer orders and product information at the “touch of a button”. This state-of-the-art software means customer orders are processed quickly and more efficiently. Managing customers, suppliers, stock control, order processing, picking, despatch and invoicing in one fully integrated system gives Rowlinson Knitwear the flexibility they require. The ability to integrate the PCI System in manageable modules into the existing business functions of Rowlinson Knitwear has ensured a smooth transition to this new system for Rowlinsons.

Howfleet

Howfleet was established in the early nineties to source ‘Cleanroom’ clothing from China. They have grown steadily ever since and today specialise in the supply of advanced performance garments for customers in niche, technologically demanding markets.

From the beginning, their aim has been to develop a high level of material technology expertise, backed by an integrated and efficient supply operation. As a result, they are able to offer a vertically integrated line of supply – from material matching and sourcing, through garment manufacture, to delivery of the finished garments.

As their business continued to grow it became clear that a new IT system was needed. A member of their Senior Management team was a previous user of a PCI system, we were contacted and a demonstration of the prof.IT system was organised. Howfleet had very specific requirements including actively managing multiple international warehouses and suppliers, allocating raw materials, raising back to back sales and procurement orders, managing the international movement of goods, consolidating multiple picking notes or despatch notes on to single invoices and using multiple and changeable units of measure. After reviewing the features and functionality of the prof.IT system Howfleet placed their order in 2004.

Since installing the prof.IT system Howfleet have continued to expand and develop their presence in a highly competitive market.

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