VIEWPOINT STAYING OPEN BUT STAYING SAFE
With Covid-19 deeply impacting supply chains across the world, Simon Oakland, CEO of Wolseley UK, explains how the merchant has been managing the pandemic.
W
hen the UK’s lockdown was announced all busi- nesses knew it was
going to be a tough road ahead. We knew that many in the indus- try would be working around the clock to deliver vital installation, maintenance and repair works and so we had to make major changes quickly, to allow our customers to get the essential supplies they needed to complete urgent, critical work for hospitals, nursing homes, supermarkets, schools, homes and utilities, all of which have been crucial to the operational stability of the uk. And that’s why Wolseley UK decided to stay open for trad- ing, despite many in the industry closing their doors, following the government’s initial announce- ments.
Safety first
Our over-arching priority has been to protect our colleagues and customers at all times. To ensure we could operate at pace, we created a number of workstreams, each with the remit to make decisions quickly and dynamically, with a clear escala- tion processes in place to acceler- ate key decisions to more senior levels as required.
We’ve closely followed the latest government advice on social distancing, cleaning and remote working where pos- sible, and introduced additional measures to keep colleagues and customers safe in branches. Throughout the crisis, we have
prioritised keeping as much of the branch estate open as pos- sible so that we can continue to serve customers wherever they are in the uk. However, to ensure the safety of all staff and custom- ers, some branches were closed temporarily.
For branches that remained open, we also reduced opening hours and ensured those with pre-existing medical conditions or those considered vulnerable were furloughed with immediate effect. Our trade counters were off limits, and each branch oper- ated a click and collect service on essential items — limiting the number of staff required on a single shift, and minimising customer contact.
We have encouraged custom- ers to order products via the website or by phoning their local branch, and we have asked all customers to inform us with their estimated time of arrival so staff can ensure orders are placed in a safe collection point.
We also implemented a no contact policy, moving to con- tactless payments, online banking services or telephone banking.
Encouraging online Encouraging and promoting the use of online services has been key to supporting our customers while adhering to social distan- cing guidelines. Customers can also use the Wolseley website to check real-time stock availability, order and track goods and get electronic proof of deliveries and invoices without having to visit
an actual, physical local branch. Through our social platforms, we have encouraged online con- sultations to help customers iden- tify issues and the parts needed to fix them using video calling apps. Where identification isn’t possible, we’ve encouraged the use of tools like partsarena which offers access to diagrams and images from leading manufactur- ers, helping installers to order the right parts first time.
However, we understand that not all of our customers are so confident when it comes to online. To help these groups, we have created a suite of how-to guides to help navigate every online process.
Product availability Since the beginning of the pan- demic, the demand for heating spares has remained high. To ensure installers can work quickly and improve their first-time fix rates, we made a stock of over 600,000 individual heating spare parts available for same-day col- lection from branches nationwide and a further 300,000 available for next day collection. We have also ensured we have the spares for commercial operations which has seen us serve many essential services.
The right choice As we have navigated the crisis, we have received an influx of customer feedback and it’s been fantastic to hear some of the great stories from customers who we’ve helped to complete
May 2020
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essential work. It’s these stories that highlight why our decision to continue supplying products was right.
Our customers have supported nhs projects, from renovating hospital wards and increasing bed space for covid-19 patients, to supplying improved sanitary- ware facilities for the vulnerable and converting care homes into nhs overspill facilities. Products supplied by wolseley also helped in the construction of each of the nhs nightingale hospitals. We’ve also heard from customers who have been able to support the vulnerable and to supply services to the nation’s key workers. In addition to being the uk’s largest specialist merchant, wolseley has a leading position in cooling and refrigeration which has been busy supplying goods to leading supermarket chains, ensuring thousands of stores re- main running by supplying all the climate products they will need. We’ve also played a key role in government and industry discus- sions, helping to shape and lead decisions along the way.
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