Supply chain health check | INSIGHT
NATHAN HOPPER, SIMPLY KITCHENS
Key suppliers supported us extremely well
Nathan Hopper, owner of Simply Kitchens in Plymouth, explains how extra warehousing helped him deal with product shortages and complete projects sooner by increasing his stockholding
our business. We recognised at a very early stage that we could be facing problems
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further down the line and so we decided to look at not only which appliance models were most popular for us, but also those that could fulfil our typical customer requirements.
This allowed us to produce a list of the appliances that we needed to stock. The list encompassed all of the commonly used appliance types bought by our customers, which included single ovens, combination microwaves, 600mm and 800mm induction hobs, 50:50 and 70:30 fridge-freezers and 600mm integrated dishwashers. In most cases, we looked at middle-of-the- range models with an option for a higher-specification alternative. Armed with a definitive list of the products we wanted to try to keep in stock, we processed orders for those appliances and to facilitate being able to house them we took on a storage unit within a local business park from the beginning of June 2021 through to the end of December 2021.
During this period, we also invested in a new mezzanine floor to sit above our existing warehouse facility. This made it possible for us to relocate smaller items to this floor while freeing up more space at ground level for the bulkier appliances. We installed this mezzanine-level storage in August 2021 at a cost of £14,000 and it was put to immediate use.
Now that we were able to hold stocks of all of the most commonly used and sold appliances, this allowed our designers to quote for appliances based upon our stock list. This gave them the added confidence that we could commit to installations with fewer concerns that we would end up with projects we could not complete because we didn’t have the appliances.
The combination of the mezzanine floor in the
existing warehouse plus the additional storage unit we took on, gave us the capacity to hold reserve stock of appliances throughout 2021. And although this obviously created a cost to the business, it proved to be utterly invaluable. We have an appliance-hungry business and the possibility of ending up in a situation where we would have lots of incomplete installations was just never an option. On the other hand, I have to say that it hasn’t all been good. Just like many other KBB retailers around the country, we have had specific appliance requirements and have had to wait for up to a year for certain ones. In our case, refrigeration products have been the biggest bugbear. But on the whole, we have traded successfully and manged to
satisfy all appliance requirements. of our customers’
uring the disruptions to the KBB supply chain that we have all experienced over the past couple of years, we have had to make a number of changes to the way in which we operate
Historically, we had been used to working on an almost ‘just-in-time’ principle. All of our kitchen furniture is delivered by the manufacturer direct to the consumer and appliances would generally arrive with us the week before they were required.
As a result, our stockholding was always fairly small and any value generated mainly by work in progress at the end of each month. When we started taking in stock in June 2021, we saw our stockholding figures increase and throughout the remainder of that year, that figure typically sat at just over £100,000 more than we would normally expect. I do feel very lucky, as our key suppliers have supported us extremely well. Our biggest appliance spend is with AEG who have done an incredible job of managing the situation. They were offering transparency and accurate forecasting from very early on. A big success with AEG was the appointment of a supply manager for kitchen studios, Daniel Vass, who worked tirelessly in supporting us with orders and his effectiveness became a saving grace. When I listen to some of the experiences of dealing with other brands. I shudder and consider that we were very fortunate.
The days of taking availability for granted seem like a lifetime ago, but with forward planning and improvements in the supply chain, things are definitely better
I think the past couple of years have taught us a lot. The days of taking availability for granted seem like a lifetime ago, but with forward planning and improvements in the supply chain, things are definitely better. I do worry that we may not see things return completely to normal anytime soon. We are living in very uncertain times. Will China increase their support for Russia? Relations between China and the Western world are already becoming strained, so could we see restrictions on trade with China in the event of any escalation? Covid really highlighted our reliance upon China and I am sure that these are questions that manufacturers must be asking themselves.
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April 2023 •
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