Warnhill Tools and Fasteners New to THS and Growing


Warnhill Tools and Fasteners was established in 2006, the “baby” of Stephen Warner and Robert Hilditch, both of whom had experience of engineering and retailing. They established the company in a premises on Winsford Industrial Estate in Winsford, Cheshire. Although the business address has remained the same, the increasing levels of company growth each year has meant some internal additions to the building, with new mezzanine floors being added to provide space to house the increasing range of stock needed to supply the needs of the customers. Many of these customers need to have immediate demands for common engineering items instantly met, so a good stock of commonly used components is an absolute must.


Warnhill Tools and fasteners is a small company, the kind beloved of


Chancellors of the Exchequer, with only nine full time employees. Steve and Robert are very “hands-on” in the business, doing much travelling to visit clients and being on the shop floor, so they remain very much in touch with the challenges and demands of running an SME. (Small or Medium Enterprise) The nine staff are required to have a wide range of skills. For example, Steve told me that roughly “one and a half” of them are employed in overseeing and processing the accounts, while the rest are expected to answer phones, take orders, man the counters and undertake the picking and packing in the warehouse. Clearly this flexible staff needs to be a team that has to have good leadership


and some experience, as well as some training on the job. Steve and Robert started with just one staff member in 2006, but as the team has grown it has been necessary to ensure that the recruitment has suited the business principles. Much recruitment has been through the usual channels like the Jobcentres or via an advertisement in the local paper. However, the key to getting the right person seems to be a careful interview process and a trial or probation period of employment. In this way, only an employee who really does fit the part will be retained for further development. All the employee training is “in-house” at the moment, where more


established members of staff train new employees in the various systems and vast range of products stocked at Warnhill. In Stephen’s view, good, well-trained


employees are very important to the growth and sustainability of the business. They have to have good product knowledge to advise new and established customers as well as being personable problem–solvers on the phone as well as on the counters. As you would expect from a pair of hands-on directors, decisions as to what


products to stock are most often made by Stephen or Robert. These decisions can be made on a number of grounds but have to be basically driven by customer demand. For example, Stephen told me that they now stock a wide range of Makita cordless machines, the “naked” ones (without batteries supplied) being particularly in demand at the moment. A bigger range of a brand usually means a better discount so both customers and retailer benefit. With a huge range of stock, ranging from nuts and washers through to power


tools of all kinds, a sophisticated IT system is needed to keep control of it all. Being a relatively new company, Warnhill was able to buy into the MAM system of stock control and purchasing and thereby avoid the problems that more established companies have had trying to integrate older systems with newer ones. Using a variety of codes, the system can tell the operators when items are low


in stock and automatically place an order to replenish the stock. It can also be used for a daily stocktaking, in which it becomes easy to investigate where items go missing or are mislaid, misordered or otherwise wrong. Of course, pricing, VAT and ordering are also kept under control by the same


system, so employees have instant answers to any queries they code in. As Stephen told me, a year-on-year growth for Warnhill shows that they do


something right for their customers. But growth is not taken for granted, regular monitoring of customers’ views both formally and informally, is a necessity to ensure customer satisfaction. The computer system is once again vital for Warnhill’s monitoring of accounts


and sales. For example, the system can pick up that a key client is not buying items that they used to buy from Warnhill. Someone can then communicate with the customer to find out why and then maybe form an action plan to rectify the situation. Also, trends and patterns in what is selling or not, what is seasonal and what is


simply not needed anymore is quickly made clear for the benefit of customers and the company. Warnhill relies mainly on the professional and engineering clients for the vast


bulk of its business, so it has to be efficient and ensure the availability of stock. About 10% of the business is passing trade, DIYers and small engineers, but the stock levels and customer service still need to be available on the spot and Warnhill has its own in-house delivery service to ensure that customers get their purchases delivered as soon as possible. Warnhill is a relatively new member of the THS group , having joined in 2012,


and as Stephen told me, Warnhill can see only advantages from joining. He particularly liked the idea that the group buying power ensures the best possible prices and discounts. Deliveries are direct and quick. There are also benefits in reducing bureaucracy and billing. For example, it only takes one payment to THS for a big consignment rather than ten payments to individual suppliers. Warnhill has used the THS online promotions system a couple of times since it


joined and these have been quite successful By using both email and mailshots a wider audience has been reached.


10 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


www.toolbusiness.co.uk


Reply No. 207


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