Suttons Seeds plant a Tensor system

Suttons Seeds is an internationally renowned supplier of flower and vegetable seeds, young plants, bulbs, fruit bushes and other horticultural products to amateur gardeners. Sutton's have a reputation for quality and service that's 2nd none and a remarkable history going back almost two hundred years. They have had to constantly develop new ideas and embrace new technology to grow the business.

In mid 1998 the company was in the process of moving from their original site in Newton Abbott to a brand new building in Paignton, Devon. Their Company Secretary, Gill Morrey, and some of the other Directors were in search of a Time & Attendance and Access Control system for the new building. In particular, they wanted a system that was easier to use than a Swipe Card system and one more fitting for their new modern premises.

Sutton's reviewed clocking systems from their existing time clock supplier, Blick; and Access Control systems from their existing access supplier Chubb. They also looked at Tensor. "We liked Tensor from the start; because their Smart Cards were very quick to use and we could use the same card and software system to do Time and Attendance and Access Control," explained Gill to the Tensor reporter. "Tensor also offered us both Smart Cards and Smart Key Fobs, which was a definite advantage," Gill added.

A WinTA Smart Card Time and Attendance and Access Control system was installed by Tensor for the 150 strong workforce in December 1998. No problems were encountered with either the installation of the software or hardware.

Gill Morrey, Marion Turner and Mandy Jones were trained on the use of the system at Tensor's Training Centre in Hail Weston. "It was excellent" was how Gill described the quality of the training. Although Gill feels they probably don't use the Tensor system to it's full potential, she was pleased it did exactly what Sutton's wanted. Asked what she liked most about Tensor, Gill replied "Very easy to use and also the reports are very clear" . She also described the use of Tensor's Smart Cards as "Very easy" and "idiot-proof" .

On occasion, Sutton's have needed to call the Tensor HelpDesk. "Excellent! We have called a number of times and have always had good service" was how the service was described. They have also had need of engineering support from Tensor's Operations department, "Very good — No complaints" was what they thought of Operations.

Asked what she liked most about Tensor, Gill said "good service, easy to use, can pass on training, user friendly for the operators and the users — specifically like the reports and the level of information and the ease of information that we get from it" .

Would Gill recommend Tensor to other companies?? "Yes" was the reply, and summing up Tensor in a few words, Gill said simply "a well supported, excellent system" .

Customer Information

Flower and vegetable seeds are produced for Suttons in many parts of the world. This is because of the need for long summers and guaranteed dry harvesting conditions, thus ensuring that the seeds are of the highest quality.

In 1965 Suttons were the first company to offer foil packets to the amateur gardener in the UK, after they developed their Harvest Fresh Foil seed packet system over many previous years. The company relocated to Torquay in Devon from Reading in 1976. Then in December 1998 Suttons moved to brand new premises in Paignton where all packaging and distribution is carried out.

Today Suttons is part of the international company Vilmorin who are the largest packet seed distributors in the world, and we look forward to all the challenges and opportunities that the new millennium might hold!

Suttons Seeds Woodview Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 7NG

Telephone: +44 (0 0870 220 2899 Website: https://www.suttons.co.uk/