Brentech signs Co-Operative deal
Dublin software firm Brentech Data Systems has signed a contract with the Co-Operative retail chain in Britain, which it describes as its biggest deal to date.
Brentech will supply enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to the Co-Operative Pharmacy’s national distribution centre, a new 200,000 square foot facility that has been constructed on a greenfield site in Stoke-on-Trent.
Chief financial officer Mark Greene declined to specify the exact value of the contract, but said that it was worth more than €500,000 to the company.
The distribution centre will serve a network of 900 pharmacies with 5,000 product lines. ‘‘This is a significant contract for us, since they have implemented full batch control on all 5,000 lines,” Greene said.
‘‘What that means is that each individual box is tracked and it allows for full traceability. It is now tracking 500,000 items per day.”
Greene said that the project would become a ‘‘huge reference site’’ for Brentech, providing proof of the firm’s ability to implement similar solutions. He said he believed that similar sales would only come from clients who had already decided to change their systems, given the enormity of the undertaking.
However, the traceability provided by full batch control pay would prove a strong selling point in the future, he said. While it is obligatory in the distribution of animal medicines, it is not for human drugs, but Greene believes regulations are likely to change in the coming years.
Brentech was founded in 1990 by managing director John Brennan, and has established itself as a provider of ERP systems to clients mainly in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The company has been self-financed since its inception, and is owned by its directors.
It has 15 staff split between its headquarters in Dublin and a facility in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo. Greene said that, at this stage, 70 per cent of its sales were exports, with its main market being Britain. Brentech’s largest customer is United Drug, which uses its software to power its supply chain north and south of the border.
Greene said that Brentech had a turnover of €2.75 million in the year ending August 2009, and that it has been profitable for the past eight years.
