Farming Monthly National September 2016 | Page 38

| Forestry WinTree® nursery management software helps maximise forestry business development potential for Cheviot Trees Cheviot Trees have become pioneers within forestry plant production by engaging TSD IT bv and their WinTree® nursery management software solutions. One year on from WinTree® implementation, they continue to work towards achieving their ambitious growth and development plans. ithin this rapid period of sales growth for the Cheviot team, there was an equally rapid realisation that their existing software was no longer hitting the mark. They needed software that would grow with them – something that afforded them flexibility and power to develop. This solution would need to handle the specialised nature of the range of plants grown. Whilst not great in number of species, the number of plants within Cheviot’s species batches is often in the thousands. This requires a high level of traceability and control to comply with Forestry Reproductive W Material (FRM) legislation. The chosen software solution would need to be both robust and comprehensive to handle this complexity. TSD IT bv develops software solutions for companies in the horticultural and nursery stock sectors. Their flagship WinTree® software suite helps companies with business administration, project management, customer relationship management, accounting, plant and stock data management and landscaping in Europe. With over 20 clients across the UK, including growers, traders, tree nurseries and cash and carry companies, Wellestablished WinTree® users include Coles Nurseries, Boningale, Europlants and Four Oaks Cash and Carry. The company have also recently added Nicholsons Nurseries to their expanding portfolio of growers who need the stability, flexibility and diversity of options that WinTree® affords a horticultural business. WinTree® and TSD fitted the Cheviot Trees remit perfectly. Katherine Short, Office Manager and WinTree® ‘guru’ at Cheviot highlighted the importance of inhouse preparation of data, staff training and acceptance as critical factors in the seamless transition they experienced when changing their software to WinTree®. She highlighted that “the intuitive nature of the software meant that we quickly had almost all aspects up and running within a matter of weeks – all down to a plain-English approach from the TSD team.” There was continued close collaboration with TSD to ensure full compliance of all data and customer documentation for the UK’s FRM legislation. At the end of their first year trading within the WinTree® realm, Katherine and the Cheviot team are both impressed and encouraged about their future with TSD. “Within days of the install, we knew we’d made the right decision. Our colleagues were able to complete tasks within a fraction of the time.” With a new computer-controlled growing complex and substantial expansion at their Berwick site as well as their developing WinTree® capabilities, Cheviot Trees are poised at the forefront of the production and supply of cell grown plant material for future planting projects across the UK and Europe. Call for special offers 38 | Farming Monthly | September 2016 www.farmingmonthly.co.uk