IT FOCUS: TRADEKART
DELIVERING THE GOODS
A new App aims to bring the speed and convenience of modern consumer delivery options to the trade market, as BMJ finds out.
T
he last few years have seen a huge rise in rapid delivery systems for consumers and businesses. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses such as Deliveroo and Amazon Prime not only grew rapidly, but also shifted customer expectations about services, and just how quickly they could or should expect their orders to be with them. TradeKart was founded by Alistair McAuley, inspired by this rapid shift to hyper convenience led by the likes of Deliveroo, Uber and Amazon. Previously managing director at AkzoNobel (Dulux) and also having, prior to that, run his family’s decorator’s merchanting business, McAuley left the corporate world to bring this same technology and convenience to the world of construction, where so much time and money is wasted collecting materials.
“Our mission at TradeKart is to connect and digitise the trade industry, making life easier for those who need materials right now. We’ve built the UK’s first marketplace that connects local trade merchants to local tradespeople and since launching in January 2021, we now serve plumbers, builders, eectricians and decorators across London with an average delivery time of just 56 minutes. Gone are the days of having to leave site when a builder runs out of materials or even having to wait 24hrs for their next delivery,” he says.
TradeKart is rapid delivery app for tradespeople. It’s free to download on any iOS or Android device, key in the location and search for the items needed. Delivery is then with the customer under two hours. In fact, McAuley says the average delivery time is around 56 minutes.
Currently operating in London, the plan is to extend it out to other UK cities later in the year.
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McAuley says: “We offer thousands of products from the brands and local merchants that tradespeople know and trust, catering for plumbing and heating engineers, builders, electricians and decorators. All available in the palm of their hand.” There are clear benefits for builders and contractors, as it takes just a few minutes to place an order, saving all the hassle and cost of leaving the building site. With live
stock availability and competitive pricing, tradespeople know exactly what they’re getting and when it’ll be delivered as there is a live tracking of delivery function. For merchants, TradeKart allows them to
offer their existing customers a rapid same day delivery solution, a vast improvement on the industry norm of next day delivery, whilst also bringing in new customers. Payment is immediate payment and there are no fees for merchants wanting to sign up. Customers simply pay a flat delivery fee of only £5. Product pricing, along with stock availability, is displayed live in the app.
McAuley adds: “In a post pandemic world, we’re all used to getting what we want exactly when we need it thanks to the rise of apps like Amazon Prime and Deliveroo. Customer mindset is changing, with convenience often being more important than price, and this is starting to reflect into the trade work life too as time really is money.
“We offer our merchant partners the ability to improve their business and tap into this changing retail space, by thinking differently to win new customers and increase sales with existing customers. We’re looking to expand across the UK later this year and already have a number of merchants and tradespeople requesting the service. For now it’s all about London.” BMJ •
www.tradekart.com
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net June 2023
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