For over 200 years the Strahan family has been supplying high-quality timber to the Irish market. Strahan Distributors operates out of two large premises in Dublin and predominantly supplies schools and colleges nationwide with all their timber needs.
Product naming note: Strahan Timber originally implemented Intact iQ. The product has since been renamed GenetiQ. Historical product names are retained in customer quotes and references to reflect the customer's experience at the time.
Moving on from a system the business had outgrown
As the business grew, its existing TAS system was no longer able to support the way Strahan Timber needed to work.
There was no point of sale (POS) module, so staff relied on handwritten dockets to produce orders. Stock control was also a challenge, particularly for hardwood products where length, width and thickness all matter.
The old system could tell the team that a product such as mahogany was in stock, but not provide the level of detail needed to understand exactly which sizes were available across the two premises.
Michael Dowling of Strahan Timber explains:
"Dealing efficiently in hardwood is a key element for us. Before Intact, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if we had 12ft of mahogany in stock, all I could tell you is that we had mahogany. Now I can tell you what lengths we have it in and what widths etc across both premises."
The existing reporting capability was another limitation. Strahan's accountants were unable to access the information they needed easily, making it harder to get a clear view of the business.
Giving the team a clearer view of hardwood stock
For Strahan Timber, improving stock visibility was about more than knowing whether an item was available.
Hardwood products can vary by length, width and thickness, so the business needed a system capable of holding and retrieving that additional product detail.
With GenetiQ, staff could see more precisely what hardwood was available and where it was held across the company's premises.
That gave the team a much more useful view of stock when responding to customer enquiries and processing orders.
Moving from handwritten dockets to integrated point of sale
The introduction of an integrated POS process also changed the way orders were handled.
Previously, Strahan Timber relied on handwritten dockets. With its sales and stock information connected in the system, the team could search for products, check availability and process orders from the same place.
According to the original case study, an order that could previously take as long as two hours to process could be completed in under a minute after implementation.
Michael highlights the difference in product search:
"The product search on the POS is 10 times faster than what we had. Everything about the POS is making it easier to get orders out quicker."
For the team, faster access to product information meant less time spent searching for stock details and a quicker sales process for customers.
Improving access to business information
The move to GenetiQ also gave Strahan Timber's accounting team access to a wider range of reports and business information.
This addressed one of the limitations of the previous system, where the information needed to understand and manage the business was difficult to obtain.
Bringing sales, stock and reporting together gave the business a more connected view of its operation and reduced its reliance on disconnected processes.
A stronger foundation for stock and order management
For Strahan Timber, the biggest improvements came from solving practical day-to-day problems: understanding exactly what hardwood was available, finding products more quickly and processing customer orders without relying on handwritten paperwork.
The system also gave the business scope to expand its use of technology further, with options such as mobile handheld devices identified as a potential next step at the time of the original case study.
GenetiQ now provides Strahan Timber & Builders Providers with a stronger foundation for managing specialist timber stock, processing orders and accessing the information needed across the business.
“Everything about the POS is making it easier to get orders out quicker.”
