SUPPLIER FOCUS
TOOLED UP N
Fiona Russell Horne finds out how Toolbank addressed the issue of working closer with NBG Partners
BG Partners have such a wide range of product sectors that they deal with, that sometimes things get missed. That’s why, says Chris Ridgeon, Toolbank group account sales manager, it’s important that Suppliers step in to offer help and advice
where they see it’s required.
“Our top sales people are almost like business management, rather than pure sales,” he says. “So, they’ll come in to the Partner’s branch, and manage the category. We’re all more mindful of products on the shelf that aren’t working for the Partner. So, when we look at the options, we tend to try and be a little bit more analytical than we were before. We ask questions: is that the right product, is that in the right place, do you think you have the right stock levels?
“We will come in now and say, actually, is that the right route? We like to think that everything on the toolbar is precious, everything is an opportunity to make money and margin for the Partner, and, of course, us. If the space isn’t creating the sales that we both need, then we’ll suggest that we take whatever is there off the peg and replace it with something else. So, there’s a lot more analysis of what is selling well and what isn’t. In this way, the category management element has been massive.” One of the things that Ridgeon says opened his eyes to the wide range of display quality around the Partners was an audit trip that he and Kerrie Kincade, the Buyer for the NBG Tools and Workwear category, undertook. “We visited a range of Partners and some of them were amazing. There was one that springs to mind. The whole toolbar area was immaculate. There was one guy who was dedicated to looking after the toolbar, he was doing stock audits, pricing, keeping the pegs all full. It was brilliant. Then we went to another merchant, and it looked like he was closing down. You know, there was hardly any stock on the shelf. Out of an 8m display there were probably 160 empty pegs. And I asked why, and he said, ‘well, it’s such a nightmare to reorder because there are so many lines that I need.’ But from my point of view that’s such a short-term view because if he hasn’t got any stock on those pegs, he’s not going to be able to sell anything.”
It’s issues such as this that the new NBG EDI-ordering process is designed to alleviate.
Ridgeon says: “We’re in the process of looking at the VMI system with a number of different people where if you sell, say, a Stanley knife, the system will at the end of the day automatically bounce an order to us
Above: Toolbank Group Account Sales Manager, Chris Ridgeon
without any interaction. The following day, our van will pull up and the Partner will put the stock in. If we can get to that as a standard it will eradicate the empty peg syndrome.”
Toolbank are lucky, he says, in that there are 11 depots, and they are all regional centres of excellence. “They are experts in their areas. If you are in Cornwall, our Exeter branch will know exactly what sells within that region. If you go to Glasgow, it’s a completely different stock profile. We have 30,000 products, and the difference in what sells well where is amazing. “Marketing is also an important aspect that we try to work on with the Partners,” Ridgeon says. “The stand looks great when it’s first installed and filled up, so you always get a sales spike, as customers spot something new on the stand, and make a purchase. However, it doesn’t take long for them to stop noticing it, and then the sales settle down. I went to see somebody the other day, and they had a pallet that they put in the front of the shop area, divided up into four, with a promotion on each quadrant. The branch manager said he turned the pallet around 90 degrees once a week, and then the customers see the fresh side. So that gave him four promotions that actually worked for him for a month, rather than just put a pile of stock in the middle of the shop and hope that customers pick up on it. That’s the sort of best practice idea that we can take round to Partners.” As well as working on developing ordering via EDI, Toolbank have an App. Originally developed for merchants who have salespeople out on building sites with customers, the App allows the merchant to call up the Toolbank products, and tell the customer what can be delivered when and how much they cost. However, Ridgeon says it has evolved into something else. “It has a barcode reader. And what we’re finding is our stockists get the App and walk around their shop. Because we put barcodes on all our pegs, they can go round and zap the barcodes, and that goes straight to an order. So, provided they send it by four o’clock in the afternoon, they will receive their order on the following delivery. It was designed as a selling tool, but it’s actually turned into a bit more. That’s the sort of thing that we can develop with our Partners, because we’re listening to them and talking to them and understanding how their businesses work.”
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THIS IS YOUR LIFE SO FAR...
January 2024
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