Prima Solutions

Loughborough based IT business provider Prima Solutions has achieved the internationally recognised ISO 9001, confirming its position as one of the leaders in its field. 

Wednesday October 5th 2011 saw Prima Solutions and many of its valued customers celebrate Prima's 20th birthday, at Towcester Racecourse's first race day of the season.

This week, Printwear and Promotion magazine reported that their editor had discovered a Banner shirt included in an evacuee's luggage from The Second World War, on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The 6th Prima Solutions Adventure Challenge successfully took place on Saturday 21 May and raised an incredible £63,895 for CARE International.

With a tradition and pedigree that stretches back to 1930's Savile Row, Chester Barrie is a name that is synonymous with style, quality and fit. The exclusive collections of suits and shirts are focused on providing gentlemen with beautiful, elegant and modern tailoring.

Gipsy Tights has been a supplier of hosiery for three generations and the Gipsy brand is now over 30 years old. Gipsy Tights bring the latest Italian and International fashions to customers who are looking for style, quality and value.

To support their growth plans, Gipsy Tights has invested in the PrimaNet application from fashion industry specialists Prima Solutions.

In order for Gipsy Tights to grow successfully, it was important for them to choose an IT supplier that has experience within the industry and a reputation of successfully helping deliver real business benefits that provide excellent results.

Susan Bresley, Managing Director for Gipsy says “Gipsy Tights is a very strong brand and we are keen to see it grow. Prima Solutions has a great reputation in the fashion industry and has a long track record of delivering strong IT platforms to growing companies. It is a perfect match and we are looking forward to working with them”.

From brand conception, Lions Rampant has been devoted to British sportsmanship with an ethos dedicated to providing a new clothing range that blends style and competitiveness with heritage and purpose. Founder Richard Hurtley was aiming to create a unique range which would be considered memorable, proud and punchy, and it seems to have worked! The business is growing rapidly and has now decided to introduce the PrimaNet business system to assist with further planned expansion through the control of business processes, optimisation of resources and delivery of high quality management information.

The Catalogue Exchange/ECMOD awards recognise the outstanding contribution shortlisted companies make to the catalogue and online retail sector. Prima Solutions has been shortlisted as one of those companies who have contributed by delivering a range of outstanding projects with customers over the past 12 months.

For more information, and to view the full shortlist, please visit www.ecmod360.co.uk/Awards

Prima Solutions will also be exhibiting at ECMOD on 6th and 7th October in the Earls Court Exhibition and Conference Centre, London. To find out how Prima Solutions can help support your multi-channel business, come and visit us on stand 614. If you would like to book an appointment to speak to us at the event, then please contact us on 01509 232200 or enquiries@primasolutions.co.uk.

The Christy Group Ltd supplies costumes, headwear, garments and accessories for all ages and since it first started creating costumes in 2001, the business has achieved a great deal.  It has a license for Disney dress-up and also produces ranges for a wealth of major retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Tesco and ASDA.  Managed from its UK head office in Barnsley, Christys sources the majority of products in the Far East and therefore has a fundamental requirement for a large community of workers in China to have online access to the same business support system as those in the UK.

Christys dress-up business supplies products on a contract basis to major retailers dealing in tens of thousands of products at any time and therefore the business required a system capable of handling it’s detailed contract costing model and unique business processes. A key requirement was that any new system needed to manage the complete process from the raising of the initial contract with the customer through to subsequent supply of goods called off by that customer.

Prima Solutions undertook a complete business analysis to propose how Christys should best use the system.  By utilising standard product and working together to develop specific contract margin reporting and analysis, PrimaNet handles the unique requirements of Christys’ contract business model ensuring that the business now has full visibility of every contract at every stage – from creation of the initial order through to invoicing.

The judging panel of this year's Retail Systems Awards have shortlisted a recent project, undertaken in partnership with Joules, in the category 'IT Project of the Year'. Based around the design, development and implementation of the new ‘Customer Services’ module, the award nomination is recognition of the success of the project and, perhaps more importantly, the value that the new application has added to Joules.

John Dineley, Sales Manager at Prima Solutions, comments “We are delighted that Joules has been shortlisted for this award.  It was a project involving true collaboration between Joules and Prima with the design of a totally new module focused on delivering best in class customer service, and the fact that the new module is already delivering significant practical and measurable benefits is a testament to the quality and success of the project”.

A collaborative project involving 12 Fire and Rescue Services has led to a major new framework agreement for firefighters' protective clothing.

The kit - known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - includes fire tunics and over-trousers, hoods, helmets, boots and gloves and forms part of a long-term agreement which has the potential to be the largest PPE framework agreement in the UK, with a possible total spend of at least £30million.

On behalf of the 12 services across South Eastern and Eastern England, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has signed the agreement with protective clothing providers Cosalt International Ltd.

Mark Lejman, CEO of Cosalt said: "We are delighted to be awarded this prestigious contract. We are proud of the strong relationships we have built up with the Fire and Rescue Services in the South East region over the last eight years, and we look forward to continuing to provide the critical safety equipment and clothing as part of our high quality of service."

Cosalt has been working in partnership with Prima Solutions for a number of years and the specialist nature of the PrimaNet Wardrobe Management and Garment Services modules will play a prominent role in managing the new contract. “PrimaNet was specifically designed to deliver the information and control that allows businesses like Cosalt to effectively manage such prestigious contracts” says Mat Burrell, project services manager at Prima. “It is a vital component in controlling costs, ensuring delivery against committed service level agreements and providing the information that the end customer demands”.

For the full case study, please click here .

Lifestyle retailer Joules is targeting major city centres for the first time after reporting net profit soared 200% to £3.6m in the year to May 1. Joules reported total sales of £51.1m up from £35m the previous year and Tom Joule, founder and managing director, said he is targeting sales of £70m for this financial year.

Tom attributes the success of the business so far to the fact that it is a multi-channel player. It started out as an online catalogue retailer, plus selling at equestrian shows, and its revenue is now split 50/50 between retail and wholesale, with 40% of that retail business being transacted via the web – “even though we are opening more stores I don’t ever see that falling below 15% as this is where the business started” he said.

Underpinning Joules’ business operation and therefore the push into multi-channel markets is PrimaNet.  Joules needed to create efficiencies across all aspects of the business and had to be able to seamlessly add, develop and integrate new channels as part of its evolution. “Working closely with Joules in order to support their vision has been extremely exciting and rewarding” says John Dineley, sales and marketing manager at Prima. “It demonstrates the value of having a quality business management solution that facilitates growth and still remains flexible enough to meet the ever-changing needs of a dynamic multi-channel business”.

To read the full Case Study please click here.

The Co-operative Clothing designs and distributes a wide range of work wear, business wear and uniforms for catering, construction, beauty and most other industries, all under The Co-operative Clothing label. They supply all businesses within The Co-operative Group as well as independent suppliers (trade) and B2B which is a new channel for Clothing. 

Their core business was initially focused around selling stock as a service, based on an annual catalogue release, but in recent years the organisation has developed significantly to become a true multi-channel business, generating sales through catalogue, telephone and e-commerce channels.

Nigel Hall Menswear has become recognised as a high quality menswear fashion brand since its launch over 20 years ago. As well as wholesale supply, they now operate a multi-channel retail business with their own stores in London, an online store launched in 2009 and concessions nationwide in Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, and Brown Thomas of Ireland. The company has seen strong growth in the last two years, including the opening of five new stores, and has recently replaced its IT systems with PrimaNet from Prima Solutions to support growth plans for their  multi-channel retail business.

Director of Prima Solutions, John Norman, accompanied CARE Challenge Manager Neil Munro to Bangladesh to see how CARE is helping garment workers in rural communities.

Teams from across the fashion industry are teaming up to challenge themselves and challenge poverty in the Prima Solutions Adventure Challenge on 22nd May, in aid of CARE International.

PrimaNet provides Joules with a flexible and responsive platform for running a fast-growing, multi-channel, service-orientated business. Through efficiency and the availability of pertinent information, their CSAs are now able to provide an improved level of customer service and upsell in a friendly and knowledgeable way. This has resulted in multiple repeat purchases and an increased average basket size and value for each purchase as well as enabling each CSA to handle a higher volume of customer orders. As a result, Joules can more quickly turn stock into cash for re-investment into the business.

CARE has had a presence in Haiti since 1954 supporting projects in HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security and water and sanitation. We have over 130 staff, the majority of whom have been contacted. Unfortunately, many have lost family members, especially children, and homes.

For the fifth consecutive year, Prima Solutions is supporting the charity CARE International through the Prima Solutions Adventure Challenge on 22 May 2010.  The event is for anyone who works in the Clothing, Footwear or Fashion Retail industries and will take place around Wimbleball Lake on the edge of Exmoor National Park, Somerset.  Each team will complete a trail challenge, cycle around the lake and complete a canoeing challenge,  as well as taking on a few mystery challenges along the way - all in the target time of 10 hours.

Prima Solutions’ customer Joules, has been selected as a finalist in the Drapers Awards 2009, Smaller Multiple of the Year category.

Drapers, Eco Footwear winning, multi-channel business, Terra Plana has chosen to invest in new systems to support its international growth plans. The company has implemented the PrimaNet system from Prima Solutions at its London Headquarters, and it’s Hong Kong Servicing Centre. Taking advantage of Prima’s rapid implementation service, the system has been implemented in less than 6 weeks and users are delighted with the results.

The PrimaNet package from Prima Solutions is aimed at multi-channel companies operating in the apparel, footwear and accessories sector. The introduction of a new specialist Customer Services module extends the PrimaNet solution to provide users with the facility to deal seamlessly with all aspects of customer ordering, queries, or returns via a single user interface. The unique design of this module sees it bring together all functionality required by a Customer Service Team in a modern, multi-channel business, with full configurability to ensure a fit for each company’s unique business requirements. The result is a faster response to customer queries, increased revenue through pro-active sales promotion, improved business management information, and a first class buying experience for customers.

Corporate clothing specialist, Sue Stedman Limited, has marked its 20^th anniversary with the roll-out of an expansion programme which has seen the business upgrade its warehousing and logistics operations, in addition to investing in a new wardrobe management system from Prima Solutions, to enable the business to automate stock requirements and manage the allocation and servicing of individual wearers.

Prima Solutions will be exhibiting at the ECMOD event on 7^th – 8^th October at Earls Court Exhibition and Conference Centre, London. The ECMOD event is for B2B and B2C multi channel companies to see the latest products, software and services to support their business.

Following the success of Prima Solutions’ customer Mulberry, who won the Best Single Brand Etailer award at Drapers Etail Awards in January 2009, two of Prima’s footwear customers were selected as finalists in the Drapers Footwear Awards announced on 7 May 2009.

Underpinning this capability is PrimaNet, the modular, enterprise-wide business solution developed specifically for the clothing and footwear industry by Loughborough-based Prima Solutions. PrimaNet is the key component of Start-rite’s operations, providing the flexible and responsive platform needed for running a lean, service-oriented and international business.  The result?  A nimble business with on-demand management information, very efficient automated processes, precision planning, lower costs and improved profitability.

Cosalt has invested in a new XML-based electronic trading solution that will integrate the company's IT systems with one of its major clients, Network Rail. This article looks at the benefits this investment has brought for both companies and how it is has provided an efficient method of ordering for almost 20,000 wearers.