Bridisco are the UK's largest independent electrical distributor, selling through catalogues and 29 trade centres. They create 8 large catalogues per year under 4 different brands and various brochures and leaflets using the Matrix CMS.

The system has been a great success since it's installation in 2000, "Matrix CMS provided a cost effective, comprehensive solution for storing data for multimedia usage as well as streamlining our catalogue production process" says Karen Phillips, Marketing Services Director.

Brand Names	Bridisco, Micromark, Power Lekrik
Employees	785
Turnover	£140 million
Website	www.bridisco.co.uk
Users	12
Products	15,000
Pages per annum	6,000

Unusually for catalogue production, they create their catalogues using PCs rather than Macs. Because the Matrix CMS can run on either the MacOS or Windows at both client and server ends, this doesn't create a problem. Also they re-use pages quite a lot between catalogues, changing only prices and product codes. To make this as quick and easy as possible, the Matrix CMS places the brand specific information onto different Quark layers so they can be turned on or off depending on the target brand.

Bridisco were our first customer to utilise the CMS feature of bi-directional data updates, which allows all changes in the Quark document to be reflected in the database as well as changes in the database to be reflected on the Quark page.

Draper are one of the biggest and best known tool companies in the UK. Nearly 100 years old they're still a family owned business, in fact the daughter-in-law of the company's founder produced, almost single-handedly, the Company's first type-written catalogue in 1953.

Draper decided to replace their existing catalogue management software in 2005 and Matrix were fortunate to be shortlisted for the new system. "We faced three of our strongest rivals in the CMS marketplace" says Matrix MD, Nick Speakman, "coupled with the fact that the incumbent system was still highly regarded by many of the staff in Draper, we are extremely pleased and proud to have won this contract".

Brand Names	Draper, Knipex
Employees	300
Turnover	£56 million
Website	www.draper.co.uk
Users	6
Products	40,000
Pages per annum	1,500

"After the demonstrations it was a conclusive win for Matrix across the criteria set, although it was clear there was room for development." says Project Manager, Keith South. "The principle reasons for choosing Matrix came down to these; Ability of the system to cater for promotions as well as our catalogue. The simplicity of the data management was prefered, especially graphics. The system comes complete, no extra modules to bolt on, an increasingly frustrating occurance with other systems where, for instance, the ability to import data becomes an additional module. Cost, given that the system ticked all our boxes and was cheaper.... it's difficult to ignore, even though cost was not a driving factor. Finally Matrix take the view that CMS needs to be catered for each individual customer. The amount of customization in our case was significant, and came out on budget to the penny."

Draper use the Matrix CMS in a completely Mac environment for creating their main catalogue. Also having grasped the full-power of the CMS they produce items as varied as promotional leaflets, product data sheets, order forms, award sheets and of course providing content for their e-commerce site.

ec2i are an internationally renowned design, image and data agency. With over 30 years serving the industry, formerly as Essex Colour, they have established a reputation that is second to none. After using one of our competitor's CMS for a number of years, ec2i decided in 2004 to start using the Matrix CMS.

"At EC2i we use the Matrix CMS both as an aid to our own productivity in producing catalogue pages for our clients, and for those clients to be able to efficiently access and organize their marketing collateral. In both cases the system has proved to be a winner." says Technical Director Steve Wallis.

Brand Names	N/A
Employees	30
Turnover	£5 million
Website	www.ec2i.biz
Users	10
Products	100,000 across 10 customers
Pages per annum	5,000

"Our clients love the straightforward interface, and the freedom they have in creating a visual representation of the catalogue page without the need for specialist software. Our designers enjoy the ease of translating the visual straight into Quark, and spending their time designing, rather than hunting for the right images and text and then applying text styling. In short Matrix CMS has proved to be a robust and effective software solution for the design and construction of catalogue pages."

Read more from ec2i's Technical Director, Steve Wallis, on how ec2i use Matrix CMS in their daily workflow, in this news article.

Gloss are one of the UK's leading digital media services companies renowned for creativity in design through print, photography, website creation, CD-ROM production, content and asset management. They produce catalogues for a large number of clients in areas as diverse as holiday brochures, stationery supplies and furniture. They had been quite happy with their previous Catalog Management software, however they did have issues with the speed of response to bugs found in the system and were concerned that there were no signs of a Mac OSX version, or any integration with Quark 6.

Because the Matrix CMS works with all versions of QuarkXPress from the latest versions back to version 3 and is compatible with Mac OS and Windows versions from OSX and XP back to OS 9 and Windows 98 SE, this provided Gloss Solutions with the security they had been seeking.

Brand Names	N/A
Employees	12
Turnover	£1.2 million
Website	www.glosssolutions.com
Users	6
Products	40,000 across 2 customers
Pages per annum	2,500

The Matrix CMS is able to provide this level of compatibility because instead of using obscure proprietary databases, we use 4th Dimension which is the industry standard in cross-platform, client-server, relational databases, also we either write our own Quark XTensions or use such industry standard tools as XTags and XCatalog.

The system implementation took just over 2 months, and now all Gloss Solutions' catalogues are created using the Matrix CMS. "We've been delighted with the Matrix CMS" says Steve Bonelle, Production Director, "The system works with your current workflow as opposed to you having to work with it, plus the guys respond quickly to any requests for changes we might have and the telephone support is fantastic".

JD Williams is the UK's leading direct home shopping company, with over 2 million customers and 4,000 employees and operates over 20 successful catalogue brands ranging from fashion catalogues such as Simply Be, Shapely Figures and VivaLaDiva through to specialist catalogues like Petfood 'N' Stuff and Crafting Direct.

JD Williams have been using the Matrix CMS since 1997 and are currently our second largest user, with a 75-user system and the system has been a great success. "Matrix has developed a Catalogue Management System to facilitate our page production from product selection by Merchandise through Design to Print Production. Giving us the opportunity to eliminate manual handling and duplication from our page production", says Project Manager, Simon Lewis "Matrix has done this with enthusiasm, empathy and patience making them an ideal development partner. Our system will better enable us to meet the challenges of business and technology."

Brand Names	JD Williams, Simply Be, Heather Valley, Fashion World, Comfortably Yours, Classic Detail and others
Employees	3,700
Turnover	£420 million
Website	www.jdwilliams.co.uk
Users	75
Products	30,000
Pages per annum	10,000

Because they produce a high number of "dormancy" promotions, JD Williams have made extensive use of the built-in page design feature of the Matrix CMS. This allows non-design users such as product managers or buyers to build a mock up of how they want the page to look, without requiring any design skills. This page mock-up is then used to build a page in Quark or InDesign following the layout, imagery and typography chosen by the non-design user. Also because of the high number of titles JD Williams create, their version of the CMS contains one of the largest typographic style libraries, in order to maintain brand identity whilst re-using the same printed text.

Maplin are the UK's largest retailer of electrical components for the home market. Established over 30 years ago, selling mainly through their large, detailed catalogue, they now also boast a large retail presence with over 100 stores across the UK.

Maplin were one of the first companies in the UK to use a Catalogue Management System with one of our competitor's products. They had tried the system for 2 seasons with very little success and by April 1996, because of problems with the software, faced the very real prospect of not being able to create a catalogue for the first time in the company's history.

Brand Names	Maplin
Employees	1,375
Turnover	£70 million
Website	www.maplin.co.uk
Users	25
Products	12,000
Pages per annum	3,000

They contacted Matrix Software and we were able to help them to replace the existing system and get a catalogue ready for that Autumn.

SInce then, working in partnership with Maplin we have continued to add and adapt the system to Maplin Electronics' requirements over the years. "Matrix software is very responsive" says David O'Reilly, Commercial Director "and they always look to provide us with an appropriate solution to our content management needs."

Maplin Electronics are our second most long-standing CMS customer. This relationship has been so successful over the years as we have always been able to provide them with solutions to meet the ever-changing demands of their business.

Otto are a subsidiary of the world's largest catalogue retailer Otto Versand, who in turn are the second largest online retailer after Amazon. Otto UK's 9,000 staff generate revenues in excess of £1 billion (almost US $2 billion) per annum through approximately 3 million seasonally issued catalogues under household brand names such as Freemans, Grattan, Look Again & Kaleidoscope.

Brand Names	Oli, Grattan, Freemans, Look Again, Kaleidoscope and others
Employees	4,200
Turnover	£500 million
Website	www.ottouk.com
Users	150
Products	30,000
Pages per annum	12,000

They had been using Pindar's CMS software for a number of years with moderate success but felt that there were several issues with the system that needed to be addressed. Faced with the prospect of either a costly software upgrade or replacing the whole system, they decided to swap over to the Matrix CMS. Also because the Matrix CMS was so competitively priced they were able to increase the number of users of the CMS from 30 to 150, within the same budget constraints.

Work began on the system in January 2004 and by July 2004 all Otto UK's brands had created a full seasonal catalogue using the new software, all staff were trained and all integration with Otto UK's other computer systems was complete.

The Otto UK CMS is Matrix Software's largest installation to date.

Rapid are widely recognised as one of the UK's leading suppliers of electronic components, electrical products, and industrial supplies to education and industry.

Brand Names	Rapid Electronics
Employees	140
Turnover	£35 million
Website	www.rapidonline.com
Users	10
Products	50,000
Pages per annum	3,000

After 20 years of trading, Rapid introduced their first colour catalogue in April 1999 using the Matrix CMS and a year later had to move to a larger, state-of-the-art distribution centre to cope with increased demand. Their catalogue now runs to approximately 650 pages and contains 32,000 different products.

As well as producing separate catalogues for the industrial and educational markets, Rapid's catalogue production team also produce a wide range of mailers and promotional material using the Matrix CMS.

Redcats are part of the French PPR group of companies which includes such brands as Gucci, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen. Redcats turn over in excess of €4 billion per year worldwide and are probably best known in the UK for their Empire Stores brand. They also produce catalogues such as La Redoute, Daxon and Vertbaudet in the UK to target more specific markets.

The first Matrix Catalogue Management System was created in 1994 for Redcats and the latest version of the CMS is still being used successfully by them today.

Brand Names	La Redoute, Vertbaudet, Daxon, Enjoy, MetroStyle and many others
Employees	2,700
Turnover	£400 million
Website	www.redcats.com
Users	25
Products	20,000
Pages per annum	7,000

During the last decade and more Matrix has become an integral part of Redcats' data management, and production workflow. "We have had an excellent working relationship with Matrix from day one - the CMS has helped keep us abreast of ever increasing technology and business demands. Adaptability and flexibility are key in this industry." says Kevin Hubbard, Creative Services Manager at Redcats.

Indeed Redcats not only pioneered the use of the Matrix CMS, but have been early adopters of every new technology the CMS has contained.