Technology Quarterly Update: Q1 2025

April 15, 2025 | |
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Celebrating Colart's technology achievements

We're excited to launch this new series of quarterly updates, designed to keep you in the loop with the latest news, achievements, and innovations from your Technology team. Our goal? To improve global communication across Colart and ensure you’re always informed about how we’re supporting and driving the business forward.

From maintaining critical systems to developing cutting-edge applications and websites, our Technology team works across a broad spectrum of projects towards our Perform 2030 goals. Every quarter, we balance strategic initiatives with day-to-day operations—keeping everything running smoothly while pushing for innovation.

A NASA image of the Earth from space. It's night and the lights from different cities are illuminated and connecting to each other.

So, who is the Technology department? 

We are a team of solution-driven experts who are passionate about Colart’s goals and projects. Our roles vary, from project managers and UI/UX designers to developers, engineers, and ERP specialists. Some of us have backgrounds in art, design, and finance, or other roles within Colart, and we've moved to Technology because we've seen firsthand how tech can drive value and innovation for our business.

Curious about the people behind the tech? Check out The Who’s Who of Technology at Colart to learn more about our teams and the experts making it all happen: The Who’s Who of Technology at Colart.

Here’s a quick overview of our teams: 

🎯Applications: We manage Colart’s ERP system (M3), making sure it runs smoothly and supports key business areas like manufacturing, costing, planning, and finance. We ensure the system is efficient and aligned with Colart’s operational and strategic goals. 

💡BI: We take raw data and transform it into clear, useful insights using various tools and techniques. Our work supports better decision-making, helps identify opportunities, and drives improvements across the business. Applications & BI Analytics work together as one team.

🛠️Development: We design, build, and maintain Colart’s B2B and D2C websites, core systems like the PIM (Product Information Management) and The Bank (Digital Asset Management), and the services that connect them. This allows us to take online orders and keep data flowing smoothly. 

📲Industry Solutions: We develop and manage smart technologies that boost efficiency, streamline production, and optimize warehouse management. By bridging traditional practices with modern tech, we help transform operations—cutting costs, improving performance, and driving innovation across the business.

📊China IT: We manage Colart’s tech infrastructure in China, support the M3 system, and ensures everything runs smoothly. We're the local tech backbone, working closely with global teams to deliver group solutions.

🔍Technical Operations: Often referred to as TechOps, we are the behind-the-scenes crew that keeps all the technology at Colart running smoothly. We make sure computers, servers, networks, and systems are working properly, fast, and safely every day.

Technology's Q1 2025 Achievements

Below are some key highlights and more information is available in the full deck available below.

Highlights
  • STAM – Colart's in-house developed Manufacturing Execution System (MES) optimizes and monitors production processes in real-time, enhancing efficiency and quality on the factory floor. We’ve continued dedicated support to our colleagues in CTAM and Le Mans after the successful rollout of STAM in CTAM in Q4, improving UI/UX and adding useful and important features. The CTAM site joined Le Mans in using this application which tracks machine ‘down-time’ (changeover of paint, packaging, machine breakdown, etc) and tracks our operational efficiency. We’ve also helped deliver an important deadline for the Warehouse Management Software (WMS) project regarding labeling.
    (Industry Solutions, Development, Applications, China IT)
  • AI workshops– The first AI workshop was attended by 39 colleagues on March 17th and is available on Colart Academy as an introductory course for anyone who missed it. A second training session will be arranged in Q2 where we’ll delve into more specific detail and use cases, submitted by you so you can get greater insight into how AI can aid you.
    (Technical Operations)
  • EPoS – Previously the Commercial teams provided BI with Excel spreadsheets to match data provided by our customers to M3 data, with this new change the BI team can cross-check with M3 directly.
    (BI)
  • SysAid - A new service desk platform has been developed and is scheduled for rollout in Q2 for all staff to use for queries to Applications, BI, Tech Ops and Service Desk, Industry Solutions, and China IT. Queries for the Development Team will follow shortly after the initial launch (replacing the Requests for Digital form). It features a modernized interface and offers support in multiple languages to cater to our global user base.
    (Technical Operations)
  • Shopify – We’ve launched the new Lefranc & Bourgeois websites, and Snazaroo is due to go live in Q2. In addition, we’ve been working with the European Marketing team to translate all product information in anticipation of the French-language Liquitex and Winsor & Newton websites.
    (Development, Applications)
  • Charbonnel Boutique PoS – Currently Finance have to do manual work and have more complicated reconciliation. This new process will reduce manual work for our colleagues in Finance and will be applied to all our D2C platforms to support business growth from Perform 2030.
    (Applications, Development) 

  • B2B – End user training was provided in-person and on-site to five of our customers Cornellissen, Stuart R Stevenson, The Paperhouse, Abacus, and Granthams. All customers rated our portal highly against our competitors and the team were able to show them how to make manual processes more automatic and to answer questions directly. Many thanks to Guy Peeke-Vout for organising this and hosting the B2B squad.
    (Development)
  • WMS project – A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a sophisticated software solution designed to optimize warehouse operations, including inventory management, order fulfillment, and shipping logistics. This project was initiated to replace our existing WMS with a newer version that leverages modern coding languages and offers enhanced capabilities. By making this upgrade, we aim to ensure our system remains efficient and adaptable, preventing obsolescence and positioning ourselves for continued success in an ever-evolving supply chain landscape. We are currently in the development phase of the project, which accounts for around 20% of the total project progress. Our target go-live date is set for December 2025.
    (Industry Solutions, Applications, Technical Operations)
  • The Bank – Our Digital Asset Management (DAM) software, The Bank, is the go-to application for all product images, including lifestyle shots and packaging. It has grown to house over 72k images, and is used by over 550 active Colart users, 2776 Reseller users and 101 Agency users, and is almost 13 years old. We’ve kicked-off a project to rebuild The Bank from scratch as an integral part of our D2C image-sync 'one source of truth' strategy.
    (Development, Technical Operations)

  • M3 Report Auto Submission – From late 2024, the regular M3 query and report auto submission tool has been in use. These report covers planning, operations, marketing, purchasing, and logistics. This tool is a way to bypass the BI license and complexity limitations so we can report on a weekly basis to the level we require without incurring BI costs.
    (China IT, Applications)

Technology Survey results

Highlights
  • Purpose of the Survey: Gather feedback from all departments on the effectiveness of Technology services.
  • Teams Surveyed: Employees from Technical Operations, Development, Business Analytics, Applications, Industry Solutions, and IT China teams.
  • Overall Satisfaction Score: 3.5/5
  • Key Findings:
    • Strengths: High system uptime, Strong security, Effective ERP and infrastructure support.
    • Areas for Improvement: Faster support response times, More streamlined AI adoption, Improved user training, Strengthen communication and visibility of Technology’s role, services, and impact across the organisation.
  • Actions:
    • Quarterly Colart News articles on Technology Team activities.
    • Town Hall Meetings showcasing new technology at Colart.
  • Our goal is to deliver consistent, high-impact value and build trusted, transparent relationships across the business, though we may not always please everyone.

What's Next?

April

We'll host a Town Hall Meeting to tell you more about a few key projects and what to expect.

May

You'll hear more from us about the Technology Survey results as we present and respond to your feedback.

Early Q3

We'll update you on our Q2 activities.


This update followed our review of 2024 achievements, please view the 2024 Technology Update if you missed out.

Comments

    • Thanks Jane! We’re going to do these updates on a quarterly basis so we can provide better visibility on our work. We received great feedback from the Tech Survey, with some asking for better comms, and this forms part of that response.

  3. Excellent comms, and really important in the context of navigating the difficult choices we will need to make in terms of what projects to prioritise as we navigate the challenges of the global and market specific dynamics.

    • Thanks Jonathan. Yes, clear communication is key, especially as we face tough decisions. I believe we need to be strict in how we prioritise projects, focusing only on those that directly support our strategic goals and deliver measurable value. For my team, it’s also crucial to understand whether the expected benefits of a project have been realised. This helps ensure we’re learning from what works, adjusting where needed, and investing our efforts where they can have the most impact.