Gardners has proudly been involved as an integral link in the book supply chain for over 20 years as Britain’s leading independent wholesaler. Since the company’s acquisition in 1986 by Alan Little and his family, we have gone from strength to strength and our family run company services in excess of 15,000 accounts worldwide.
A major part of our success has been our constant investment in innovative technology and our staff. Many of the major developments in book wholesale, supply, and e-commerce have been developed and introduced by Gardners Books, something we are all incredibly proud of and strive to continue.
In recent years we have increased our product range to include many other non-book media product ranges. Our book catalogue now includes eBooks and audiobook downloads, and our home entertainment catalogues include DVDs and CDs.
From local bookshops to non-traditional outlets, multi-national companies and e-commerce concerns, we specialise in meeting the needs of booksellers and retailers on a global basis.
The hub of Gardners is our custom built 350,000 square foot office and distribution centre based in Eastbourne on the south coast. Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allows us to provide the first class service you require, and more importantly expect, from Gardners.
Gardlink History & Development
Constantly at the forefront of innovation, Gardners Books was the first wholesaler to realise the benefits that electronic ordering could offer the modern bookseller. Following extensive research and a cutting edge development programme, Gardlink was first released in October 1990.
Working closely with independent booksellers to develop the system our focus, as it was in 1990, has always been to offer an efficient, sophisticated bookshop management system.
Offering an impressive range of features, including EPoS, stock control, EDI ordering, and real-time internet data feeds, Gardlink truly was designed and developed by the independent bookseller for the independent bookseller.
Gardlink 4 continues this legacy with many new and existing facilities and features. Gardlink 4 has been completely re-written and redesigned to include a full EDI suite catering for ordering, goods-in and returns functions electronically, a completely new and intuitive user interface and designed to cater for the very latest technologies in both software and hardware.
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
The Right System
Choosing any software is an important decision – when you choose Gardlink you will benefit from the features that only the market leader can offer.
Gardlink has grown and evolved over the years into a totally integrated bookshop management system. It is constantly
updated to meet the ever changing needs of booksellers in an ever challenging retail environment. With a long and proven history, the system offers innovation, flexibility and reliability.
This latest version takes advantage of current technologies and internet connectivity. With powerful freature such as:
• Online search engine
• Real-time availability and ordering
• Complete EDI ordering suite
• Comprehensive stock control & management system
Gardlink 4 key features:
Enhanced searching engine
• Combination of local and online searching
• Real-time Gardners stock availability
• Local book titles
• Non-book products
• Customisable search criteria and results tables
• Jacket images and other digital marketing material Full EDI suite
• Real-time instant ordering with Gardners Books
• EDI ordering to any supplier that can accept them
• Email ordering
• EDI invoice processing for automated goods-in process
• Ordering through PubEasy
• EDI returns to any supplier that can accept them
• EDI returns through batch
Intuitive user interface
• Touchscreen optimisation
User & event transaction logging
Full suite of management reports & potential for custom reports
Full complement of stock control features
• Sales processing and analysis
Full touch screen EPoS option available
• Gardlink EPoS V2 fully integrates with Gardlink 4 to offer a full and detailed sales and stock control system
• Familiar EPoS tools - such as customisable sales, payment and discount departments
• As with Gardlink 4, EPoS V2 can be expanded as your business develops, with no limit on the number of additional workstations and tills that you can add to your network
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system V4 The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
V4
The leading bookshop ordering management system
Committed to Development
We continue to invest a considerable amount of time, resource and money into the development of our Gardlink software. Constantly embracing new ideas and technologies for an ever changing market, Gardlink is constantly evolving with it. Reliability, continuity and responsiveness reassured with a committed in-house development team based at our office here in Eastbourne.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an important consideration when investing in a new bookshop system. Your choice must not limit, either physically or financially, your potential to modify and expand along with your business needs.
Gardlink has been designed with this in mind, and offers a range of inexpensive and often free upgrade routes to expand, customise and adapt your systems to accommodate growth or changes in business priorities.
From simple beginnings with a standalone computer system, you can easily:
• Add further workstations
• Add laptop computers
• Turn you system into a complete EPoS solution, quickly and cost effectively
The Information Age
Gardlink takes full advantage of the internet, with a constant connection to our data servers around the clock. Accessing the Gardners catalogue of 5 million titles, your systems have constant access to an accurate and real time catalogue.
You also have the option of including the Nielsen British Books in Print catalogue, via an online connection, to supplement and enhance your book search requests.
With access to our high speed data servers and internet connections, searching for books is not only accurate and comprehensive, but also extremely responsive.
Gardlink provides instant access to the Gardners stock catalogue, providing you with constant price, availability and discount information. With the built in PubEasy service, you can now also access their systems to provide you with instant access to 3rd party supplier price and availability data, be that with a distributor, publisher or other wholesaler.
With instant access to a vast database of information, the wealth of data being returned to you could be overwhelming, and that is why we have coupled these powerful features with a very intuitive and customisable user interface.
Access to a full EDI suite provides an easy and efficient means of carrying out basic stock control functions such as ordering, goods-in and returns with a wide variety of suppliers.
Customer Comes First
Using Gardlink’s customer order service allows you to easily record the order with full customer details, including current contact details such as mobile phone numbers and email addresses. Automatically contacting your customer, Gardlink will send an email or text message to let them know that their order is ready for collection at your shop.
Home Delivery
Deliveries direct to the consumer’s home address is not just the preserve of the internet retailers, you too can offer this convenience of service to your customers and enjoy the one of the many benefits of collaboration between Gardlink and Gardners Books. When you are choosing Gardners Books as a supplier for a customer order, simply select the Home Delivery option, and fill out the delivery address details.
Benefits of this flexible service include:
• Avoid goods receiving, packaging and despatch from your own premises
• Consolidation and bulking services available
• Range of proven and trusted carrier choices for UK and export
• Bespoke stationery options
• Gift wrapping services and packing insertion options
Customers
Customers are the lifeblood of your business. Gardlink maintains and collates a database of your customers. Not only does this represent a time saving convenience when placing orders, but ultimately offers possibly the most targeted marketing opportunities to you. It collects customer details including addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, as well as ordering history and interests, providing you with the opportunities to create customised promotions.
Loyalty
Gardlink offers you the ability to run a totally integrated customer loyalty card scheme in your shop. You can create your own or make use of the “local loyalty rewards” scheme operated by Gardners Books, providing ready-made cards, vouchers and POS material.
The feature is fully customisable, allowing you to set your own point values and voucher triggers. All details are recorded within the system and are available at the touch of a button for incorporating into your customer database for any
marketing purpose.
A comprehensive range of reports are available for you to track points and vouchers issued and redeemed.
This professionally produced material is available to you via Gardners Books at a heavily subsidised price, allowing you to issue credit card sized cards to your customers and obtain supporting point of sale material.
‘Local Loyalty Rewards’ scheme by Gardners Books
LOCAL
LOYALTY
REWARDS.
VOUCHERMY LOCAL LOYALTY REWARDS. VOUCHER MYThe ‘Local Loyalty Rewards.’ card is a great loyalty scheme which rewards you when using the privilege card on a regular basis in your local book shop.
M y P r i v i l e g e C a rd LOCAL LOYALTY REWARDS. VOUCHER MY Dear customer
Thank you for signing up to our ‘Local Loyalty Rewards.’ loyalty scheme.
Attached to this letter you will find your privilege card, which you‘ll need to sign, remove and laminate
as per the instructions below. Use this card every time you spend £10 or more at John Smith Books
and you’ll receive 1 point. For every 10 points you accumulate you’ll receive a £5.00 voucher! It’s as
simple as that.
As your local bookshop we can offer you an unparalleled range, with access to over 2.5 million
books, 45,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and 80,000 eBooks. For any titles we don’t carry in stock
we can offer you a next day delivery service to either the shop or your home address.
Thanks again for your custom, we look forward to seeing you very soon!
Kind regards
John Smith Books
JohnSmithB O O K S JohnSmithB O O K S 17 Random Street Anytown East Nowhere AB12 C34 Tel: 01234 567 890 email: john@jsbooks.co.uk www.jsbooks.co.uk 17 Random Street Anytown East Nowhere AB12 C34 Tel: 01234 567 890 email: john@jsbooks.co.uk www.jsbooks.co.uk VOUCHERMY SIGNATURE
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CARD LAMINATION: 1. SIGN PRIVILEGE CARD ON SIGNATURE STRIP. 2. GENTLY REMOVE PRIVILEGE CARD FROM LETTER. 3. FLIP THE CARD OVER AND PLACE BACK ONTO THE CLEAR FILM AREA. 4. CAREFULLY PUSH THROUGH AND THE CARD WILL LAMINATE ON THE SIGNATURE SIDE.
Stock Control
Bookshop Invoicing
Create invoices, delivery notes and credit notes for any of your customers using this integrated facility. The flexibility of the system allows you to apply overall and/or individual line discounts, with Gardlink recording the sales transactions and automatically booking out the stock.
You can even customise your invoices, delivery and credit notes to include your own colour logs for the header.
Stock Control
Gardlink provides the unique benefits of EPoS in in-stock figures and fast goods-in processing, within a low cost intuitive, simple, yet highly sophisticated programme.
With core elements such as sales processing, goods-in, returns, bookshop invoicing, and a variety of other utilities Gardlink is the complete stock control package.
Integrated for use with the system, cordless scanners help take the strain out of stock takes, why bring the books to the computer, when you can take the scanners to your stock?
You can even add your own product ranges to Gardlink including non-book items. Many of our customers use their system to maintain and control their non-book stock, such as stationary, music, DVDs, gifts etc.
Ordering
Creating an order is simplicity itself. From any book search screen you can add the item you are reviewing directly into a new or existing order list. The order lists can be reviewed regularly, and details such as quantities, references and even suppliers changed or swapped about right up to sending the orders.
Orders can be sent using a variety of methods including;
• EDI to Gardners and any other EDI enabled supplier
• PubEasy – To any PubEasy affiliated supplier
• Teleordering – to any supplier
• Email – to any supplier with an email address
• Printouts
Sales Processing
Whether you use our add-on EPoS module or not, the sales processing facility contains your days’ sales in a detailed, yet easy to use format.
With each item showing its goods-in, sales, returns and backorder history, you are presented with all the information needed to make a commercial decision about reordering those items. With instant price & availability from Gardners online database, as well as PubEasy, you will know immediately who has stock and at what price.
You can also make use of the core stock flags feature, and clearly identify the important items in you sales lists.
Goods In
Gardlink greatly simplifies this procedure as any order supplied by Gardners will automatically generate an electronic version of the invoice, which the system will collect on demand. Gardlink will also accept and process EDI invoices from any other supplier offering them.
Once you accept these invoices, Gardlink will automatically add everything listed into stock for you. Should there be any customer orders included in the delivery, customer slips will be printed ready for you to place inside the front cover.
Gardlink will now even text or email your customer to tell them that their book has arrived at your store. This process is completely automatic; you simply tell Gardlink when you initially create the order.
If your supplier is unable to provide an electronic invoice or delivery note, you can also carry out goods-in using the original purchase order or alternatively by using your barcode scanner.
Returns
Using slow/movers & dead stock report, you can now
automatically build returns lists instantly. Gardlink even determines from which supplier you last purchased the titles and collates and produces a returns request list on demand.
Alternatively you can choose to build your returns requests manually using the barcode scanner, but by whichever method you choose, returns can be sent easily and electronic via the EDI suite or 3rd party providers such as Batch.
Backorders
The backorders module of Gardlink allows you to maintain and administer your Gardners backorders. Using the online real-time technology, Gardlink provides you with the latest information on all of your backorders, and you can even mark individual items for chasing or cancellation. This data also links in and updates your customer orders, even when you are making unrelated enquiries.
Book Stock In/Out
If you attend many off-site sales events, such as school open days, parent evenings etc., Gardlink enables you to take stock from the shop, compiling a simple yet detailed list of everything being booked out. Upon you return, you simply book in the remaining stock, and if you wish, Gardlink can automatically generate the sales data and history for that event.
Management Reports
Gardlink contains a selection of standard reports for analysing your stock, sales and customers. With reports available to access your current stock holding Gardlink contains all of the fundamentals to empower you to make the commercial decisions necessary to improve your business plan.
If you have a more specialised requirement, we can even build custom reports for you.
Technical Support
Support for Gardlink is available through our in-house Gardlink Support team, Monday to Saturday between the hours of 9am to 6pm inclusive.
Our experienced and friendly team are there to answer any questions you may have and to discuss the many features that Gardlink has to offer.
Contact Us
...to discuss all your Gardlink requirements.
General contact details
Gardners Books Ltd
1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne
East Sussex BN23 6QH
Tel: 01323 521555
Fax: 01323 521666
Simon Pallant, IT Service Manager
simon.pallant@gardners.com
Website
www.gardners.com
www.easyentertainment.co.uk
Gardlink - EPoS Version 2
This latest version of our popular EPoS software is more than just a re-write of the original. Whilst we have built upon the principles of the original versions, we are excited to be able to offer many new facilities and abilities to provide you with the tools you need to run your business on a day to day basis.
You have all of the usual tools you need and would expect from an EPoS system such as customisable sales departments, payment departments, and discount departments. In addition you can now analyse and produce report data by each till and each user. Each transaction is stored in the database, and can be instantly recalled for your reference. Shop sales statistics can also be built using the comprehensive export routines, so that you can assess your sales for various tills or members of staff.
With a selection of standard promotions, you have the ability to automate in-store events such as buy-one-get-one-free. Gardlink EPoS V2 will handle these promotions without user intervention, removing the potential for human error or time consuming calculations.
With the arrival of the optional user-control, you can set up members of staff to have specific levels of access for sales, refunds, and credits.
