Darthaven case study
“I would recommend Barcoder to anyone, I am very pleased with the product, the layout and the support.”
– Nathan Chilcott, Darthaven Marina
Sage Barcoder has totally transformed the Chandlery at Darthaven Marina, increasing productivity, automating key day-to-day functions and eliminating unnecessary paperwork.
The Challenge - Finding stock control software that met the marina’s unique business challenges but still integrated with Sage.
Darthaven Marina was struggling to find a stock control solution that could meet the demands of their unique business, while simultaneously integrating with Sage 50. The busy marina, based in Devon, has two sides to the stock control function within its Chandlery – staff take parts to repair customer vessels, and it also sells parts to members of the public.
Finding stock control software that was easy to use but that fulfilled both purposes - keeping track of the parts issued to staff and controlling the stock that was sold to customers, was a challenge. The marina stumbled across es Consulting through an internet search and they have been delighted with the software and the service that they have received.
Nathan Chilcott, Accounts, Personnel and Office Manager at Darthaven Marina commented: “We were desperate to find a product capable of both integrating with Sage and offering enough flexibility to work with shop sales and the issuing out of parts. It was vital that the bar-coding product worked well with Sage line 50, we are very comfortable with Sage 50 and had or have no plans to change it.”
Darthaven Marina is a thriving family-owned business with 270 berths and a Chandlery. The marina offers boat repairs on-site for any vessel, including those over 35 tons if it is possible to work on them in the water. The chandlery sells an extensive range of parts and nautical supplies to the public.
The Solution – Sage Barcode software with custom modules and addons
Sage Barcoder from es Consulting is primarily used in the marina’s chandlery but it is also used in their office on occasions. Their staff uses the stock control software to process goods in, to keep track of the parts that they are issuing to staff for vessel repairs and to control stock levels and process sales in the Chandlery when selling to the public. Having one solution that can handle all these functions at once, as well as seamlessly integrating with Sage 50 has saved an enormous amount of time. Paperwork that previously was sometimes duplicated, or even triplicated, has been totally streamlined and the staff at Darthaven have confidence that stock levels are accurate.
Darthaven were also keen to find Sage Barcode software that was intuitive and easy-to-use because their team has a limited amount of time to train. Nathan said: “Barcoder is very well laid out and works well, there were initial teething problems, like all new products, but it now functions exactly as we want it to, it needs only a few minutes training and anyone could do the basic functions.”
The Results - Incredibly useful stock control software tailored towards Darthaven’s business and service with a smile!
But it is the service that es Consulting offers that has really made their Sage Barcode software special for Darthaven Marina. Es Consulting provide more than just standard software packages – they are warehouse management consultants who like to talk to their clients to find out how Sage Barcoder and Sage Importer can be developed to meet their needs. Darthaven Marina is a particularly unique business, which had very individual requirements and it was vital that their Sage Barcode solution could fulfil all these requirements. Nathan clarifies: “It is very hard to find any product which will do all the things we want it to, this is what made Sage Barcoder the best choice. It will be the best solution for Darthaven as it will be styled on our needs.”
Hugh Smith, from es Consulting, has travelled to Devon to liaise with Nathan about Sage Barcoder on numerous occasions. Es Consulting prides itself on the personal touch which is something that Nathan really appreciated. He said: “Hugh, in particular, proved to be very friendly and knowledgeable. He has made several trips to Darthaven, despite the distance, to ensure he has a full understanding of how we are using the system and what we need it to do, he has managed to do all of this and keep smiling!”
The service that comes with the stock control software is key for most of es Consulting’s clients. Each business has different obstacles to overcome to reach its full potential in terms of productivity. This is where es Consulting’s commercial knowledge of warehousing, distribution, and inventory management comes into its own as Nathan discovered. He said: “As with all software development it has taken time to get the right set-up, but we can already see that this will be an incredibly useful piece of software to us.
To find out how Sage Barcode software from es Consulting could transform your business and increase your productivity, as it has done for Darthaven Marina, call 0845 867 2032.