Jane Furse growing with K8 software

A growing business in the Limpopo Province of South Africa took a big step forward in 2005 when they decided to migrate to K8. Jane Furse Building Supplies, an Essential Hardware store in the rural town Jane Furse, used K8 to evolve from a trade counter store to a self-service retail environment and has since continued to grow.

Business owner Muneer Essa, a man with vision, realised that they need a software program to assist with the various aspects of building and maintaining a successful operation. In the case of Jane Furse Building Supplies, an efficient, user-friendly stock control system was of utmost importance.

“Our employees are all from the rural areas surrounding the town. This means that they do not have the same exposure to information technology like their counterparts in the cities, thus we needed a simple yet effective program,” says Mr Essa.

After investigating several options, Kerridge Commercial Systems’ product, K8, came out tops. “We started off with just 10 users and have grown to over 60 users.  K8 has made a huge and positive difference to the way we do business,” says Mr Essa.

“We serve the distribution trade and retail industries. When Mr Essa approached us to assist in moving his business into the future, we gladly accepted. By implementing K8, Jane Furse Building Supplies can forecast more accurately, enable a reduced stock holding and ultimately gain greater control of their business. Jane Furse Building Supplies is a great example of the scalability of K8 and they are now able to compete with the big names in this industry,” says Eugene Vreugde, a Kerridge Commercial Systems sales executive.

Today Jane Furse Building Supplies is the biggest seller of cement and water tanks for a single store in South Africa. “We are the only hardware store serving the Sekhukhune rural district. The nearest big town, Polokwane, is some 150km from where we are situated. People living and earning good salaries in the cities, send money home to their families in our area. They build the most beautiful houses and they need us to supply them with building material,” says Mr Essa. “We rely heavily on K8 to keep our stock updated in order to supply the right product, on time, which is key to our success.”