Allied-Kingswood and ArtiCAD in New Partnership

Allied-Kingswood, one of the UK's largest and longest-established distributors of kitchen furniture, appliances, bedrooms and associated products to independent retailers and developers, has formed a new partnership with specialist KBB CAD software company, ArtiCAD.

In what represents a major cultural change for Allied-Kingswood, ArtiCAD-Pro will be rolled out to the company's fifteen area sales managers over the course of the next few days. Jeff King is Allied-Kingswood's Sales and Marketing Director: 'Traditionally, our sales managers have produced hand drawings of the proposed designs but without doubt, the time has come to change. Producing designs by hand can cause problems with accuracy, the result is not as professional as we might wish for and, of course, it is very time consuming. I'd much prefer my sales personnel to be selling rather than drawing!'

Appreciating that being able to accurately visualise a design is fundamental to the sales process, Allied-Kingswood began their search for a suitable CAD product about eight months ago. Although the main criteria for the product had to be its ease of use and ability to deliver immediate benefits to the sales managers, Jeff King was equally keen to find a company that could be more than just a traditional software supplier. 'I was looking for a company with whom we could develop a long-term partnership. I am a firm believer that this type of relationship brings multiple benefits to both companies'.

'In ArtiCAD-Pro, we found a product that was head and shoulders above the competition in terms of its flexibility, reliability and the quality of its output. However, just as importantly, I believe that ArtiCAD and Allied-Kingswood have the potential to create a great partnership. Already the synergy between the two companies is far beyond that of a supplier and its client. I have a massive amount of confidence in the team behind the product and am looking forward to working closely with ArtiCAD in the months and years ahead.'

All Allied-Kingswood area sales managers have been equipped with laptops over the course of the last few months. Providing them with ArtiCAD-Pro is the next stage in the company's re-energised sales strategy. When visiting their retailing customers, Allied-Kingswood's sales managers will be able to quickly and easily produce display ideas for the showroom whilst the retailer continues to deal with his own clients, and when he is ready, he can then view the ArtiCAD-produced designs and agree changes on the spot. Jeff King: 'Not only will the ArtiCAD-Pro output be far more professional than a hand-drawing, but it is obviously more accurate, faster to produce and it is easy to make any changes whilst the retailer engages in the process. I am confident this approach will enable us to gain commitment for new displays much faster.

'And for our developer clients, the drawings produced by ArtiCAD-Pro will be just as useful. Many of them are quite small operations without access to the latest technology. We will be able to produce different designs for them to pass on directly to their clients ' and once again, we believe that the decision-making process will be must faster and much easier.'

Allied-Kingswood is also working with ArtiCAD to develop plans for using two of the new products from the ArtiCAD-Live portfolio. ArtiCAD i-Design and ArtiCAD i-Choose, which were previewed at the recent KBB show. ArtiCAD i-Design is a stunning new web-based tool, specifically designed to generate more and better qualified sales leads from ArtiCAD customers' websites ' drawing sales prospects to their business. ArtiCAD i-Choose is a web or PC-based presentation tool which allows ArtiCAD designers to offer their customers a means of viewing and selecting some of the key elements of their specific room design such as door and handle style, and door, handle, floor, work surface, wall tile colours and surface finishes ' all at the click of a button. Jeff King: 'We are still formulating our ideas for these two products, but I am very excited about the opportunities they offer.'

Notes for Editors

Founded in 1992, ArtiCAD Limited has been, and continues to be, solely focused on the development and marketing of innovative, robust computer-aided sales tools for the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. The company has more than 3,000 users of ArtiCAD in the UK alone. ArtiCAD Limited is headquartered in the UK, with subsidiary companies in Ireland and North America.

The company has gained a strong reputation for its in-depth understanding of the KBB industry, its innovative software, responsiveness to client needs, regular product upgrades, extensive portfolio of support services and lowest cost of ownership.

For further information, please contact:

Theresa Turner
ArtiCAD Ltd
York House, Wolsey Business Park, Watford
Hertfordshire, England, WD18 9BL
Tel   +44 (0)1923 888101  
Fax +44 (0)1923 888096
web http://www.articad.cc