TEES TECH AWARDS 2025

SPONSORED BY AZETS

Andrew Rowe( right), managing partner at Azets Teesside, presents the Digital Transformation award to Southern Asset Management CEO Steve Southern and operations manager Dave Taylor( left).

WINNER

It’ s a“ gamble” that paid off for Steve Southern – and won his firm the Digital Transformation prize at the Tees Tech Awards.

Multi-award-winning Southern Asset Management is fronted by Steve, who has never been afraid to talk about difficult topics such as his own mental health issues in the hope of helping others.

A pioneering specialist in lighting testing, inspection and asset management across the UK, Steve knew the firm needed to get away from paper-based methods if it was to stay ahead of the game.

In 2024, he shared his vision with Luke from Octoro Software Solutions to streamline structural testing processes, improve data accuracy and reduce reliance on outdated methods.

The result? A bespoke Business Management System( BMS) and a technician app that enables real-time data capture and verification, with instant updates to a client asset management portal Steve admits it was a gamble – but says it was one he had to take. Proudly clutching his award, he told Tees Business:“ I put everything in – I gambled massively. I thought,‘ Do you know what? I’ m going to give the clients what they want’.

“ I’ ve been doing this for 27 years so I know what the client needs and I thought,‘ They don’ t want to wait for the data, let’ s give them a proper portal they can log into’.

“ Everything was paper-based before but because we work all over, we needed to give clients a portal which they could log in to and look at all the results‘ live’. Very few people in the country do what we do but it was always an Excel spreadsheet.

“ Now, we’ ve developed a monster but in a good way – it’ s a full SaaS model so we can licence it out, we can licence apps – so the last 12 months have been a bit mad, really!

“ I took a gamble, I got investment but I knew it would pay off. It could have backfired but I knew it wouldn’ t and now we’ re in chemical sites, doing drone surveys, loads of things, all in the space of 12 months.”

FINALISTS

DIRECT LINE SUPPLIES

Recognising that traditional manual processes were a barrier to scaling, Thornaby-based wholesale food provider Direct Line Supplies( DLS) is now reaping the benefits from a radical automation journey that is revolutionising the food service industry through AI-driven digital transformation.

By bringing in VR-enhanced logistics, automated procurement and predictive analysis, and having worked with Teesside University between 2021-24 to develop a digital twin for data-driven decision-making, culminating in the launch of its SaaS model, it has optimised warehouse operations, increased sales and improved customer experience.

Shifting from fragmented, spreadsheetbased systems to a fully AI-driven, automated operation has boosted efficiency, cut errors by 60 % and increased revenue while reshaping workforce dynamics.

And by eliminating reliance on manual decision-makers, therefore ensuring seamless operations through AI and machine learning, DLS is leading the charge toward a smarter, automated and AI-empowered distribution industry, setting new standards for operational efficiency and customer engagement.

SPONSOR’ S MESSAGE

Andrew Rowe, managing partner, Azets Teesside: We’ ve sponsored this since the start of the Tech Awards because we’ re advisers to businesses of all kinds and it’ s great to see firms embracing change. We don’ t just advise on things like accounts and tax – we advise on things like systems, improvements and how they can run their business better and this is a really brilliant example of it.

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