Set up in 1958 by Sue's father, James and now run by Sue, her husband Peter (Managing Director), her sisters Pauline and Toni, brother Jonathon and their spouses, Towlers remains a family owned, family run independent multiple.
With their Head Office near York and five CTNs and three convenience stores spanning the length and breadth of North Yorkshire, Sue was tasked with finding a solution to give them more control of the company, which would allow them to concentrate their efforts on running the stores they have more profitably and facilitate further expansion.

 Having introduced Sprint EPoS to their Easingwold store in 1986, Sue has been delighted with the contribution that it has made to their business, and Sprint was soon rolled out across the group.

 "As more stores were bought, it appeared that more time was being spent travelling around them than running them" Sue explained, "and as in my opinion no other EPoS system matched Sprint, I was eager to see the capabilities of the Sprint Head Office."

 After seeing a demonstration of the Sprint Head Office System, Sue convinced the rest of the Group to make the investment in a Head Office System. Now, only 2 months on from it's implementation, "I'm delighted" she enthused. "The rollout has been so smooth. We've had no major problems and the support we have received from YP's Head Office Team has been excellent. The fact that Gary (Head Office Co-ordinator) and his team have always been there for us is very reassuring.

 Our newest store has been set up using the Sprint Head Office System and it has been so much easier and quicker than our previous acquisitions."

 Sprint Head Office enables Towlers to manage prices, range and promotions from the head office and communicate electronically with each individual store. So what has this done for Sue and the Group?
"As far as stock levels are concerned, Sprint Head Office has enabled us to make sure that we have products available in all of our stores. If one store has an excess and one is out of stock it's now a simple process to make a transfer between stores.

 Because we can retrieve daily data and reports from stores we now know what is happening as it happens." explained Sue. "We no longer have to ask the manager to print the reports and then wait for them to be sent in the post. It lets us stay on top of things and because we can monitor quick sellers, locally at the store and across the group we can ensure that there is always sufficient stock. Similarly, if we identify a slow seller in one store, we now have the power to relocate it to another, who has a better rate of sale."

 "The information it provides us with and more importantly the accuracy and speed with which we can get the information is fantastic. We have already reduced our debt and we can control it more effectively as at head office we don't have the same day to day distractions that store managers do.

 Similarly, in the past we have printed new price lists and sent them to the stores, which then get implemented when the manager has time and on a few occasions the new price list has got put to the bottom of a pile of invoices and changes have not been made. Now we can make the changes at head office and download them to each store, which processes them automatically. If we want to have the same price in all stores we can, if we want certain stores to charge different prices we can or if we want a different price in every store we can. It's so flexible, it's great!"

 Only two months on Sue wouldn't be without Sprint Head Office. "It has already paid for itself and has certainly made our lives a great deal easier" explained Sue. "We are due to take over another store in Bedale on Saturday. That's only 8 weeks since the last one opened - we couldn't have done that without the Head Office System.
Once I've got the Bedale store up and running, we'll run more promotions, because we can instantly see the level of compliance, not just in the individual store but also across the group.

 The additional control that we have through Head Office is great and not only saves a lot of running around but is having a definite impact on our bottom line.

 By improving stock availability, we will improve our sales. By improving our sales and reducing our debt we will improve our cash flow and improved cash flow gives us the power to continue with our company expansion - none of this would have happened if we were still chasing round the county collecting all of the different reports and information that we now do at the touch of a button!

 The current development that YP are working on with our Key Lekkerland wholesaler, Youngs, to complement our existing electronic order link, will enable us to receive product file updates at the head office, We can then make the necessary price and range amendments and send the changes directly to the stores," said Sue.

 The way in which the Sprint Head Office System has been designed and configured not only makes it flexible in its application but also scaleable. That means if there are some parts that you do want and other you don't, we can create a system for you.

 That also means that you will only pay for the parts that will benefit your business!

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