Hardware Retailer B&Q to Close 60 Stores in The United Kingdom and Ireland.

According to a recent article in Supply Chain Digital, Kingfisher, Europe's biggest home improvements retailer, has today announced it will be closing 60 of its B&Q stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, after pulling out of a takeover for French chain Mr Bricolage.

British group Kingfisher, which owns the chains B&Q and Screwfix in Britain as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France, said it would close the stores over the next two years at a restructuring cost of £350 million. Neither the exact locations nor number of planned job losses were disclosed.

"Kingfisher has said for some time that B&Q UK & Ireland can adequately meet local customer needs from fewer stores and that some of the stores should be smaller." the group said, while revealing the departure of B&Q Chief Executive Kevin O'Byrne.

It was announced also that Kingfisher's annual profits had dropped 19 percent to £573 million.

In a statement, the company said: "The results for the year reflect a mixed picture across our markets with the UK market improving but continental Europe, particularly France, proving to be a more challenging environment."

You can read the fill article from Supply Chain Digital here.

Construction begins on new B2BGateway World Headquarters in Rhode Island, USA.

Phase 1 construction has just begun on a new 40,000+ sq.ft. purpose built office campus for B2BGateway, a leading global EDI and automated supply chain software solution provider. The offices will be built on a 9 acre site adjacent to Exit 2 of interstate I-95 and only a few miles north of the Connecticut Border.

 

 

 

According to Kevin Hoyle, CEO of B2BGateway, “The site was chosen for its proximity to both New York and Boston. The facility will  allow us to amalgamate all the offices we currently lease in Rhode Island into one. This will greatly benefit both the organization and employees alike as we move forward and continue to grow at a rapid pace”.  He added “Having the additional acreage ensures space for future buildings and will add some fun with the soccer fields and volleyball courts for the staff.”  B2BGateway is aiming to take occupancy of their new offices in late Fall 2015.

 

St. Patrick’s Day kicks off Spring Season with Americans spending $4.6 Billion on Holiday Festivities and Attire.

According to NRF’s St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, nearly 127 million Americans are planning to celebrate the traditional Irish holiday and will spend an average of $36.52 on green garb, festive food and more, compared to $35.78 last year. Total spending for the holiday, which fell on Tuesday, March 17, is expected to reach around $4.6 billion.

“Consumers are ready to shed their winter blues and welcome spring’s arrival with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Falling at the perfect time of year – just as temperatures begin to rise – retailers are hoping St. Patrick’s Day will also draw the attention of those looking for traditional spring merchandise as consumers take the opportunity to stock up for warm months ahead with home improvement, garden and apparel purchases.”

The survey found that more than 104 million Americans, or eight in 10 (82.4%) of those celebrating, plan to wear green to make sure the luck of the Irish is with them this year; 28.9 million, or 22.8% of celebrants, plan to decorate their homes with shamrocks, leprechauns and pots of "gold."

It could be suggested that St. Patrick’s Day has now become the unofficial Kick Off for the spring spending season. The NRF-Prosper Insights and Analytics survey can be read here.

To have your goods ready and to meet the EDI requirements of your customers in time for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, please call B2BGateway on 401-491-9595, email Sales@B2BGateway.Net or visit www.B2BGateway.Net 

 

B2BGateway EDI Solutions for the Omni-Channel

B2BGateway CEO, Kevin Hoyle, named as a Supply and Demand Chain Executive ‘Pro to Know’ 2015

The leading supply chain publication and industry expert, Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, has named B2BGateway CEO, Kevin Hoyle as a Supply Chain ‘Pro to Know’ for 2015.  

 

Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine recognizes Provider and Practitioner Professionals in the supply chain marketplace. The ‘Pro’s to Know’ is a listing of individuals from software firms and service providers who have helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community at large prepare to meet the significant challenges in the year ahead.

 

Kevin Hoyle founded B2BGateway as a software development organization, Shannon Systems, LLC in Boston in 1999. B2BGateway was the name given to a cloud/SaaS based EDI solution developed by Shannon Systems in the year 2000 that became so popular and synonymous within the industry that the organization now trades as Shannon Systems, LLC dba B2BGateway.

 

Over the past 15 years EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has become a standard business requirement in the Wholesale Distribution, Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Government, Third Party Logistics (3PL) and automotive industries. B2BGateway is a natural fit for organizations in these industries that require an efficient, cost-effective, cloud based EDI solution to communicate seamlessly with their trading partners.

 

By fully integrating the EDI solution to the users Accounting Software/ ERP through cloud based technology, B2BGateway removes the need for the end user to re-key data into their system, thus greatly improving accuracy, increasing labor efficiencies and expediting the ‘order-to-payment’ cycle.

 

In addition to supporting the North American EDI standard of ANSI X12, B2BGateway also supports all international EDI standards and communication protocols such as EDIFACT, Tradacoms, oioUBL, Odette, XML, VAN, FTPs, AS2, etc..

 

“It is an honor and a privilege to be recognized as a supply chain ‘Pro to Know’ by industry peers such as Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine”, states Kevin Hoyle, CEO B2BGateway, “When I founded the firm in 1999 I had no idea that it would grow so rapidly and now we have clients in over 30 countries operating in 17 different time zones. 2015 is a going to be a great year for B2BGateway as we introduce many great improvements and are currently constructing a new world headquarters in Rhode Island, USA”.

MYOB launches cloud based ERP system MYOB Advanced Down Under.

MYOB has leaped into cloud-based ERP with the launch of MYOB Advanced, a powerful business suite for mid to large sized companies.

MYOB Advanced is based on the US ERP Acumatica for which MYOB obtained an exclusive Asia Pacific license about a year and a half ago. In the meantime a team of developers in Auckland has localised the software’s tax module for GST and changing spelling to Australian English throughout.

MYOB Advanced sits above the AccountRight range and is intended as a cloud alternative to MYOB Exo. These two products are suited to companies with 30-250+ employees, according to the MYOB product chart.

MYOB Advanced is relatively affordable given the number of features at A$99 per user per month (NZ$109) for the entry-level Standard edition.

The Standard edition gives users access to all functions, while Plus (A$139) and Enterprise (A$179) add greater numbers of workflows and more licence types such as sales, warehouse, projects and finance.

Unlike cloud accounting software in the small business end of the spectrum, the Acumatica program makes no sacrifices in function. It has complex inventory management including multiple warehouses, sales and purchasing, accounting and general ledger and a CRM.

The platform is also highly customisable, best demonstrated by its mobile app which MYOB describes as a “player”. A company can decide which data from the ERP it wants to display in the mobile app and can tailor it to its own needs.

As with Acumatica, B2BGateway is a MYOB Advanced partner, offering users cloud based, fully integrated EDI and automated supply chain solutions. B2BGateway’s MYOB Advanced solutions allow users to communicate electronically with their trading partners and remove the need to key data, in turn reducing errors and hastening the ‘order to payment’ cash cycle. To find out more about B2BGateway’s EDI solutions for MYOB Advanced please email Sales@B2BGateway.Net

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