Manchester technology firm gets on its bike for local charity
A Manchester technology firm is getting into gear in South Africa to help raise much needed funds for a local good cause.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions provider K3 Syspro (K3) will be going head to head with its partner, SYSPRO (headquartered in South Africa), as they each field five riders for the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, in Western Cape, South Africa, on Sunday 9 March 2014.
Staff at K3 Syspro will be getting on their bikes as they aim to raise vital funds to help Springwood Primary School build a multisensory room for students. And in an interesting twist, it is one of K3's own customers, sensory equipment manufacturer Rompa, who have submitted a proposal to provide equipment for the new build, currently under consideration.
While K3 Syspro sells SYSPRO ERP to manufacturers and distributors throughout the UK, its partner SYSPRO works to develop the software worldwide. The two companies will each be entering a team into Cape Argus and each aiming to outdo the other in friendly rivalry.
The race, also known simply as the Argus, is the largest individually timed event in the world, putting 35,000 riders through their paces covering a gruelling distance of 109km - about the same distance from Manchester to Birmingham in the UK. Since its inception in 1978 the event has been held annually, attracting such cycling superstars as Miguel Indurain and Jan Ullrich.
Rompa invested in a SYSPRO solution from K3 in 2012 to support a period of business growth. The company may be responsible for developing the multi sensory room for Springwood Primary School, which provides specialist education for pupils aged two to 11 years all of whom have profound, complex and challenging needs. The school supports pupils with a variety of special needs and is a recognised and respected charity in the local area.
K3 Syspro Managing Director, Andy Latham, feels the event is a great opportunity to raise money for an incredibly worthwhile charity, support a valued client, and create some good-natured competition in the process.
"We're really looking forward to taking part in the Argus in order to raise money for Springwood Primary School," he said.
"It'll be fantastic to meet up with the SYSPRO team but there is undoubtedly going to be a fierce rivalry once the starting gun goes!
"Springwood Primary is such an amazing school and the work it does to support children in the local community is truly invaluable. We're hoping to raise as much money through sponsorship as possible to help them achieve their aims."
Each team will have their own mascot to join them on the day. K3 Syspro's mascot is a bee, which represents the animal emblem of the city, which adopted it during the industrial revolution as a motif for hardworking people. SYSPRO South Africa will be taking along Tenacious Ted along with them, who has long been the SYSPRO mascot.
For more information on the work carried out by Springwood School or to sponsor K3 Syspro on the bike ride, head to http://k3syspro.com/charity/.
About K3 Syspro
K3 Syspro employs 80 people at its Manchester head office and its branches throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, advanced planning and scheduling, warehouse management, human resources and e-business. SYSPRO is used by some 14,500 sites in over 60 countries. K3 Syspro is a division of K3 Business Technology Group, a global leader in providing next-generation enterprise software for businesses in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors. With more than 3,000 customer installations in over 30 countries, K3 is recognised as a safe, innovative and reliable provider of world-class solutions, backed by world-class service.
For further information, please contact:-
Editorial - Sarah Winterbottom, Marketing Executive, K3 Syspro on 0161 876 4498, or John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail john@bridgepr.co.uk.