Manchester, UK: 4th April 2022  

Minster WMS & TouchStar Technologies announce strategic cooperation

Minster WMS, based in Tamworth, England is a software provider to the UK Supply Chain sector. The company was established in 1978 and offer a complete system for any business involved with the distribution of products. Currently the software is used by wholesale distributors, contract warehousing organisations and local authorities to distribute products as diverse as food, sports equipment, cosmetics, stationery, cleaning materials, medical equipment, and furniture.

The company has particular expertise in the supply of contract food service distribution systems, with experience working with high calibre customers such as Marks & Spencer, Best Food Logistics, Wincanton and Pret-A-Manger. Non-food customers include Semichem, Claire’s (North America), Hertfordshire County Council and Bradshaw Group (Singapore and Australia).

The Warehouse Management module is the core software within the Minister suite and controls all classical aspects of the warehouse operation, including multi-client processing, receipt of goods, put-away, picking, loading of vehicles, perpetual inventory etc. The module can be installed as a traditional paper-based system, RF-driven or full voice enabled mode.  

In addition to a modern WMS product offering, Minster has an ever-evolving suite of fully integrated business modules that include sales order processing, telesales, procurement, and pallet tracking.  

TouchStar Technologies, based in Manchester, England have been providing ePOD systems to the logistics sector for over 35 years. The flagship EPOD application is PODStar, which can be integrated with back office, finance and supply chain planning systems. 

The PODStar front-end application is generally deployed on Android tablets or mobile phones. At its simplest level the van or HGV driver can obtain an electronic signature from the client which confirms receipt of the goods or service delivered. If further evidence is required, the driver can take a confirmatory photograph or scan a barcode which the PODStar system will automatically attach to the client record. The proof of delivery information is immediately transmitted in real time to the back-office system. This allows the client to produce invoices for completed jobs, thereby maximising cash flow.

Much like Minster, the PODStar software is constantly evolving and now extends well beyond conventional ePOD to include job planning and scheduling, route planning, vehicle and driver tracking, vehicle inspection and driver administration (including COVID checklist routines).

A recent meeting between Phoebus van Deventer, Managing Director, Minster WMS and Mark Hardy, CEO of TouchStar plc. has led to both organisations committing to a strategic partnership. Both organisations have achieved significant success within the food sector but will be working closely together to consolidate their penetration in other UK logistics markets.    

Mark Hardy stated: “Our organisations offer software from opposite ends of the supply chain process but the combined product offering will ensure that clients have a ‘one stop’ source for everything from sales order processing and warehousing through to the last-mile proof of delivery confirmation. Rigorous formal testing was completed in order to ensure that a complete level of integration was achieved between the Minster WMS module and our ePOD application.

On completion of the comprehensive testing process we were delighted to award Minster formal accreditation as ‘Certified Integration Specialist’ for our PODStar product. We look forward to a long and mutually-beneficial relationship with a highly reputable WMS vendor.”