Karen Sibson, Manchester Chamber

NEW business software has proved music to the ears of a Wythenshawe warehousing operation after massively improving efficiency.

Music Exchange distributes music books and sheet music throughout the world from a catalogue of around 100,000 products.

The company has around 350 suppliers, 2,000 trade customers and several thousand direct mail customers.

In partnership with Knutsford software company, LRD Systems, Music Exchange began development, before the millennium, to ensure its systems were able to deal with possible Y2K issues.

Since then, LRD has brought together Music Exchange's business model with the latest technology developments to create an effective and efficient operation.

Music Exchange managing director Steve Taylor said: "On some days, we can receive up to 300 orders, varying from one book to thousands. There was a time when we couldn't count the outstanding orders, so we used to weigh them!

"Now we can turn orders round, usually within 24 hours. The faster we can get an order to a customer the sooner they are going to reorder with us."

Benefits

LRD is dedicated to ensuring businesses get the most out of their information technology and believes that the software should fit the end user, not the other way round.

David Dutton, LRD's managing director, said: "We have worked across the company's accounting, database, Internet and warehousing systems to iron out inefficiencies and improve the operation.

“When the business concerned is high volume with low margins the operation has to be quick and accurate, as any errors would negate any profit in the transaction."

LRD has linked Music Exchange's operations so that orders can be received via telephone, fax, Internet, email and epos (electronic point of sale) and are instantly routed to the warehouse where pickers use radio terminals to select and check stock.

LRD Systems was established in 1994 by David Dutton, who had years of experience as an end user and developer of business systems.

Music Exchange is one of the largest independent distributors of printed music in the UK, with a turnover of £5m, after starting life above a music shop on Portland Street in the '60s. It employs 54 staff and still has two retail outlets in Manchester and Stockport.