K3 refreshes IT at Westons Cider

Westons Cider, a family-owned maker of draught and bottled cider, has implemented the Drink-IT software from K3, the UK supplier of Drink-IT, an advanced and modular solution for the beverage industry, in a move to improve the management of its production. Westons joins the K3 beverage drinks cabinet already containing : The Caledonian Brewing Co. Ltd, Everards Brewery, Frederic Robinson, Hall & Woodhouse and The Liberation Group

Helen Thomas, Managing Director at Westons Cider, and great grand-daughter of the founder, said, "Our business didn't have an automated system in place.  To grow our business, it is essential that any production losses are properly traced, reported on and controlled and since implementing Drink-IT we have better visibility across the business.  By deploying the integrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV financial system there has been significant benefits in quickly seeing the financial impact of the production process. The strength of the production software was a major factor in our decision to select K3."

The implementation coincided with the seasonal nature of cider production. Working to Westons Cider's production cycle, Drink-IT was implemented in the summer.  Alongside this, Microsoft Dynamics NAV financials, telesales and distribution has also been implemented across the business.

Thomas continued, "We're a family business, and very much a ‘people' company,
keen to foster long-term relationships with our suppliers and we have an excellent working relationship with the K3 implementation team. Drink-IT's international success was also a factor, particularly because it had been implemented at Stassen, a cider maker of a similar size to Westons Cider in Belgium.  We were also able to review implementations at other drinks customers, and a site visit to Hall & Woodhouse, another K3 customer, helped us in our final decision."

Based on Microsoft Dynamics, Drink-IT is providing telesales order entry and processing, management of discounts and promotions, automatic calculation of duty, distribution management, point of sale for the onsite shop and the management of customer and supplier accounts.

Drink-IT's production software enables production planning and control, lot tracking and quality management as well as product costing.

John Little, Sales Director at K3, said, "Westons Cider is the latest company to join K3's portfolio of breweries, drinks distributions companies, pub companies and supermarkets.  They are already seeing the benefits of developing the production system to cover the cider making process."

About Westons Cider
Henry Weston, came to 'The Bounds' at Much Marcle, Herefordshire in 1878 and continued the tradition of using fruit from the farm orchards to make cider and perry. Making and drinking cider and perry formed part of the pattern of life in the country. The development of commercial cider making began in 1880 when Henry recognised the threat from overseas imports, which had been created by the British Empire.
Today, Westons Cider's traditionally produced, award winning draught and bottled products are not only available throughout the UK, but are exported to more than 25 countries worldwide - from supermarkets to local off licences, and in hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs.

The wide range of ciders and perries from cloudy scrumpy through to organic, sparkling vintage, is constantly subject to strict quality control and a policy of innovation keeps the company ahead of the competitive cider market.  Based at the original farm 'The Bounds', Westons Cider employs more than 160 people, produces over 30 different ciders and perries, sells approximately 28 million pints a year and has a turnover of over £27 million.
www.westons-cider.co.uk

About K3
K3 have been providing business software solutions for over 18 years and are proud to be the UK's leading supplier of Microsoft Dynamics.  At the core of our achievements lies the successful provision and implementation of end to end solutions sought out by clients worldwide.

We are renowned for our unique personalised service and our skill at really listening to our clients. As a Microsoft Gold Level partner we offer a level of expertise that allows us to deliver exactly what our customers require.

Our beverage customers have benefited from fully integrated financials, telesales, production, quality control and salesforce automation systems, which have strengthened their businesses and placed them in a position to operate with great strength in a demanding market.  Customers that have enjoyed the benefits of a Drink-IT software solution include: The Caledonian Brewing Co. Ltd, Everards Brewery, Frederic Robinson, Hall & Woodhouse, The Liberation Group, Carlsberg, Heineken, Duvel Moortgat and Spontin SA,

About Drink-IT
Drink-IT® is an advanced and modular solution for the beverage industry, based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, tailored for producers, distributors and bottlers.

Drink-IT was originally developed by Norriq, one of the largest Microsoft Dynamics partners in Europe, in collaboration with Duvel Moortgat of Belgium.  K3 is the sole distributor for Drink-IT in the United Kingdom and Ireland, having implemented the solution and contributed to its development since 2002.

Drink-IT has gained the "Certified for Microsoft Dynamics" accreditation, awarded by Microsoft.  This confirms that the software has met the stringent criteria necessary to be one of the validated offerings in the Microsoft partner solutions portfolio.

www.thenavisionpeople.com

Laura Grocott
PR Contact
Fieldworks
Tel: 01435 873080
laura@fieldworksmarketing.co.uk
www.fieldworksmarketing.co.uk