Laura Ashley
Web Design, CMS Development
Laura Ashley Kitchen Collection
Web Design & CMS Development
About
Laura Ashley is one of those brands that needs no introduction!
Originally founded on a kitchen table in 1950’s London, Laura Ashley now has stores the world over, including the Far East, Australia, Scandinavia and South America and is one of the most revered and respected fashion & home furnishing brands in the world.
Keep reading to see how we helped them with one of their latest projects...
The Challenge
Laura Ashley were looking to launch a website to help increase brand awareness ahead of the launch of their brand new product range, Laura Ashley Kitchen Collection.
It was also critical to provide its customers with a user-friendly platform to help communicate its products, news and events.
Laura Ashley knew they needed more than just a web designer, they needed a partner who could take the lead on all aspects of the project, liaising with all parties and capable of integrating with all related systems.
After a rigorous vendor selection process, Laura Ashley found Komodo Software best suited for the task and moved ahead with the initial design process.
The Solution
After successfully showcasing a number of design concepts, we worked closely with all stakeholders to understand the business goals and understand the website requirements before selecting the appropriate solution; from innovative tools like a Dealer Locator that allows visitors to find their nearest stockist, to a stylish blog to keep visitors abreast with the latest Laura Ashley news.
We chose to build a fully responsive (RWD) website, that allows visitors to browse the website no matter what device they’re using, from desktop to tablet to mobile phone.
We coupled the website to an installation of Orchard CMS, a fantastic Content Management System (CMS) that allows website managers to update all aspects of the site without the need to speak to one of our team, saving both time and money.
The Result
A website that not only satisfied the needs of Laura Ashley’s site visitors, but also helped reduce the workload of staff, marketing professionals and administrators.
As a final touch, we integrated the website with their dotMailer marketing portal, allowing the marketing team to send targeted newsletters to interested parties using information gathered from user-submitted forms on the website.
Not only did this help improve user interaction, it also freed up precious resources within the website team to concentrate on more useful tasks.
Following the success of the Laura Ashley Kitchen Collection project, we were subsequently awarded the project for the Laura Ashley Bedroom Collection, which proved another success.
Does this sound like your organisation?
We're here to help! Contact us today to find out if we can help you with your next project...
St Ives Plc
Development Outsourcing
St Ives Plc
Development Outsourcing
Microsoft .NET, SQL Server
About
St Ives originated as a print business over 50 years ago. Today, they have evolved into an organisation comprised of more than 8 companies, spanning print, digital, marketing services and data analysis.
The Challenge
St Ives approached us to see if we could assist them during a period of internal restructuring of their IT department.
Due to the complex nature of their systems they required developers with excellent knowledge of Microsoft .NET and SQL Server, as well as knowledge of systems and database architecture best practices. Our developers have been using .NET and SQL Server since it’s initial inception, so we knew we were a good match for their requirements.
After in-depth discussions with IT Department heads and their developers, Komodo Software were selected for the job.
The Solution
In order to get up to speed as quickly as possible, we recommended a review of all their product documentation, which allowed us to get an understanding of the overall concepts and structure of their systems.
Next, we conducted an on-boarding period with the departing developers, which allowed us to get first hand knowledge of the systems and transfer any knowledge not available via the documentation.
Last of all, we made sure prior to the final handover to Komodo Software, that both parties were happy that all areas of code had been covered.
The Result
Thanks to the time spent during the on-boarding process, we were able to integrate into the development team very quickly.
Through the length of the contract, we would go on to become central to their development team and were responsible for the development of many new projects, as well as assisting in a Project Management role where necessary.
Does this sound like your organisation?
We're here to help! Contact us today to find out if we can help you with your next project...
Leach Colour
Software Development
Leach Colour - Importal
Bespoke Software Development
About
Leach Colour are a print manufacturer specialising in the production of graphic displays and display structures.
Established over 125 years ago and with a strong reputation for innovation their unique skills and expertise have kept them at the forefront of the print industry, with large scale commercial projects and clients based all over the world.
The Challenge
When Leach Colour first approached Komodo Software back in 2011 they were in a period of rapid growth. Up to that point they had been primarily using a heavily spreadsheet-based approach to manage their projects and general business processes. Although this had been adequate in the past it was clear that an upgrade was going to be required in order to handle increasing demand.
Having experimented with several of the well known off-the-shelf MIS Systems and finding that none of them were quite the right fit for their way of working they approached Komodo Software to see if we could help.
The Solution
Undertaking an initial consultancy phase, we took the time to get to know every aspect of Leach’s business. Liaising with staff from every department we built up a clear picture of every step of the process from sales, through production, into accounting and management reporting.
From here we were able to design and develop Importal, a fully bespoke management information and job tracking system, designed from the ground up to fit Leach Colour’s unique business requirements. Because of Importal’s entirely bespoke nature it meant that the system could fit around what was best for Leach Colour, rather than the other way around.
Importal is built using the latest Microsoft .NET and SQL Server Database technologies and is accessed via a web-based user interface, securely accessible through any web browser on any type of device.
The system supports Leach Colour in every aspect of their business from managing customers, estimating jobs, tracking projects through to invoicing and reporting.
The Result
Having been in place for several years Importal has become an integral part of Leach Colour’s business and is now considered critical to their day to day activities.
Over the years as Leach Colour has continued to evolve so too has Importal. With the ability to continually add modules and make refinements as and when required Importal has proven itself as perfectly suited to support and adapt to the client’s ever-changing business needs, both now and well into the future.
Does this sound like your organisation?
We're here to help! Contact us today to find out if we can help you with your next project...