MERCHANT FOCUS: JAMES BURRELL
Tyneside and Northumberland customers. At all the branches, it’s the branch sales team which looks after the local customers, while the logistic team services orders across the group. Rob Richardson says: “The deeper stock holding we are able to offer now with the bigger Billingham branch able to act as a central distribution hub has benefits for our other branches, It means we can service those other branches with regular stock transfers so it cuts down their lead times waiting for manufacturers to deliver, as we can do it from here.”
Managing director Mark Richardson points out that, for a predominately heavyside merchant, that delivery service remains critical. “Customers waiting for essential materials can face delays and additional costs if products are not available when they are needed. Having greater stockholding and distribution capability on the doorstep therefore gives us a significant operational advantage,” he says.
Stock where it matters The biggest change is not how much space the company now has, but what it can do with it. Hall says: “What we learned from things like Covid and the subsequent supply shortages is that we desperately need yard space and warehouse space to take advantage of buying product as and when we can find it available.”
Now, instead of individual branches having to buy smaller quantities, probably paying a delivery premium as a result, Billingham can take full loads and then redistribute them across the group as required. The branch is now supplying other locations on a regular
basis, with each branch receiving on average two deliveries a week. The result is a more joined-up distribution operation, allowing the wider network to offer customers greater product availability while making better use of buying opportunities.
Mark Richardson explains: “The more extensive stock holding we are able to offer now with the bigger Billingham branch has benefits across our network. It means we can service those other branches with regular stock transfers so it cuts down their lead times waiting for manufacturers to deliver, as we can do it from here.” That capability has become particularly valuable in a market where supply constraints and allocations can still affect product availability.
He adds: “Allowing the branches to access full loads through internal distribution helps to keep us in a fighting position, especially at the moment when the market is depressed so customers need all the help we can give them.” It also means the company has more freedom to react when opportunities arise to take in stock loads.
This is why one of the warehouses is also deliberately being kept only partly full, without full-height racking; the flexibility this tactic provides is already proving useful for products such as PIR insulation, where lead times and allocations have created challenges. It means, Hall says, that the company can take advantage of product availability rather than the branches having to take whatever they have been allocated in any particular week. “When certain product lines went on allocation we might have been getting only two and a half loads a week across the nine
September 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
branches. Now, we can say, get it all to could say we’ll get it into Billingham and then we can distribute it out to the branches that actually needs it. That’s a major advantage.”
Putting customers first “Locally, we have been blown away by the customers’ reaction,” says systems director Nick Richardson. “Judging by the volumes the site is selling, those customers seem to appreciate the increased stockholding.” The investment puts the business in a strong position to respond to growth in the wider Teesside economy, as the region is poised for significant development around its port and industrial infrastructure, while the area around Billingham is due to be reclassified as the Billingham Chemical Complex. Housing development is continuing too, although Mark Richardson reports that the RMI market remains more challenging.
The company expects 2026 sales across the business to broadly match 2025, despite the wider economic and international headwinds, though there is some indication that the market is storing up demand for the future. For James Burrell Builders Merchants, the priority is to make sure it has the infrastructure and capacity to respond when demand returns. Ultimately, Billingham is evidence of the company’s longer-term strategy. Mark Richardson says: “As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2027, we’re thinking beyond the immediate market cycle. We want the capacity to embrace new products, respond to supply-chain opportunities and continue providing manufacturers with a dependable route to market.” BMJ
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