LMR TIMBER SUPPLIES
talking about because they are dealing with it all the time.”
business allowed us to go at particular targets that we would never have thought about – shop fitters, for example. We have found that we have more customers for our building side as well because we can offer them things we couldn’t before.”
As well as the product and pricing side, Denton says there have been numerous intangible benefits from their Partnership with NBG. The new software system is a case in point, he explains. “We put the system into both businesses and we were able to speak to other NBG Partners who have been using the same Spruce system. It meant that if we had an issue, which with new systems you always do, we could chat with one of the other Partners about how they resolved it or what they thought. Yes, we could go to Spruce, but when you talk to the Partners, there’s a kind of shorthand. They quickly grasp what you are
The biggest change has been being able to service that wider market, getting business in areas such as flooring that the company would never have been on the map for before. Denton says: “Now, I think customers would consider us for almost anything, even plumbing and heating fittings if necessary. We aren’t a plumbing and heating specialist but, thanks to NBG, we do know specialist plumbers’ merchants. NBG gives us the opportunity to work closely with Partners such as, say, Kingsley Bathroom Plumbing & Heating Centre in Northampton, and be able to offer customers the complete package.” Being able to have that direct access to the manufacturers has really helped, Denton says. “As part of our service to customers, we would always try to source something that they required, even if we had to go and buy it in from another little timber specialist local to us, but your margin is then really small to get it out to the customer. Now, we are not only buying better, but we are buying the right products that we need for our customers.” LMR Timber Supplies expanded into new premises last year. Denton says there were always some limitations around the available space, which wasn’t sufficient for the company to be buying in full loads. Now it can, which helps with the ability to buy advantageously and make the most of the NBG deals. “We can increase the range as well. Up to now, I’ve only ever kept treated timber and some CLS because that can go in the shed. Whereas now, we can literally keep a full range of treated and untreated carcassing, store it properly and enhance our reputation. The space that we have taken on has allowed us to think slightly differently about the products and what we can offer customers, existing and potential. That
January 2025
will then open more doors for us with, for example, some of the housebuilders.” He adds: “While things are going so well with what we’ve got now, we think we’ll take things one step at a time. We have a loose business plan that we will add a new vehicle to the fleet every year, which will increase capacity by around 18% or so. Behind that, though, you need another sales person, another person in the yard, another driver. It’s not just about the lorry.
“We do pride ourselves on our service. I know that’s easy to say, but that is at the front of our minds when we look at the future. We would never want to grow so big that the service levels slide away; that’s what keeps us ahead of the competition. We do it by not exhausting the staff or any part of the business. We allow people to operate well and have a little bit of flexibility. If you start exhausting the lads in the yard or you’re trying to get too much out of a driver, service levels drop and then your reputation quickly goes.
“We want to always leave that little margin. It’s not just the service element either. We have an obligation for our operator’s licence. If you are hammering the drivers to get more deliveries in than they can feasibly cope with, what happens if they get pulled over? ‘Why were you speeding? Well, because my Transport Manager told me I have to be there by 3pm and then somewhere else at 4pm’. We’d rather just do it right. That’s how we look at all the functions of the business, whether it be the sales team or the guys in the yard. We try to keep a very relaxed atmosphere. A better working environment enhances your reputation as a good place to work, so you get people actively wanting to come and work for you. And you know, if people are happy, then they work that little bit harder without realising it.”
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