Aptean Retail ERP Helps Kingstown Associates Turn Business into Multi-Channel Retail Operation

Kingstown Associates is a leading UK mail order company, owning several lifestyle brands and predominantly aimed at the over 60s market. The company provides bespoke fulfillment services to third-party clients and confidently offers a variety of services, including media advertising and wholesale purchasing. Kingstown Associates is continually expanding, always improving, and ensuring it meet its customer’s needs.

The Challenge

As a business, Kingstown Associates sends over a million parcels a year and up to 75,000 catalogs a week. But the legacy, outdated systems that were being used to complete the fulfillment services were severely impacting business operations and overall efficiencies. Some of the challenges faced daily included:

• Lost orders through batched card payments

• Duplicate order entry for online marketplace sales

• Complex web store orders

The Solution

Following a thorough business process analysis (BPA), Kingstown Associates recognized the urgent need to implement an integrated multi-channel retail system that could not only provide a single version of the truth via an online dashboard but could also improve operational efficiency and support the company’s ambitious growth plans. The solution needed to be able to:

• Provide full operational visibility of what was happening across the business at any time

• Help improve customer service and profitability

• Streamline business operations for more efficient and flexible warehouse processes

• Automate processes to eliminate paper-based systems for quicker stock control

The Result

The automation, integration and data provided by the Aptean Retail ERP system led to a significant increase in operational efficiency and business growth for Kingston Associates, without the need to increase staff levels. The system has provided the business with a robust platform for growth—allowing it to focus on the next phase of its multi-channel journey.

• Organic business growth of 29%

• Doubled online sales in 12 months

• Increased order accuracy and improved customer service and profitability

• Single view of operations through integrated dashboards