Images Magazine Digital Edition August 2018

www.images-magazine.com AUGUST 2018 images 83 SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Jodie Kent, director Tell us a bit about your business We set up about ten years ago. We were (and still are) a sign company, and we kept getting requests for embroidery and bits and bobs. We bought our first embroidery machine five years ago, and it opened our eyes to the industry. We went to a trade fair and met ETrader there. We sat down with them and it seemed of interest, and then they popped down and explained it more. It seemed a little bit too good to be true, but against the advice of my wife (and business partner), I said let‘s give it a go. It‘s the best move we‘ve ever made as a company; it‘s now 50% of our business. Did you look at any other systems before going with ETrader? We always get calls saying, “We can build you a website for £400, £1,000...,” but these guys were more about explaining what the system does and what it could do for us rather than the price. They were selling us a product rather than a bespoke site. It was more expensive than anything else, but included constant support and back-up. How easy was it to set up? It wasn‘t difficult to set it up – there were just a few tweaks needed and you have one person as a point of contact, which helps. We very rarely need to speak to them though. From what I can remember, they showed us demo windows before they asked for payment, so we saw visual evidence of what they had done. What do you think are its main advantages? It‘s easy and quick to quote customers because the product codes match up to the wholesalers‘ catalogues, and they continually update the pricing. People want prices there and then. We‘ve had to change the way we work: we now offer a flat price so you win on some, lose on some, but all we need to know is the garment price, logo position and the quantity. We quote people live in the shop – people come in, say what they want and we price up on the iPad, there‘s no magic art. For us, time is more precious than anything. Working out a quote then sending an email later could be the difference between winning the work and not winning it. Is there anything you would like to see in an upgrade? The only thing I find a struggle when quoting work is knowing whether there is going to be stock available; it would be nice if there was a live feed into the distributors and brands. Also, having the picture change as the customers pick their colours – some of the customers like to be able to see the T-shirt they want in the orange they want. What‘s it like to use? It‘s quite self-explanatory. I‘m not a computer whizz kid, but I find it easy. What would be your advice to others thinking of investing in a new software system? If they haven‘t got a website, and you want your business to go somewhere, it‘s a necessity to have ETrader because you‘ll have no website presence otherwise. It‘s essential to have them at a reasonable cost. We were very sceptical of people building a website for us as we‘ve been there and done that with other projects, but they were genuine people who understood where we wanted to go. www.oliverembroidery.co.uk Oliver Embroidery: ETrader website Jodie with his business partner and wife, Sarah Kent It’s the best move we’ve ever made as a company; it’s now 50% of our business