Interview
What resources and training do you offer? We offer product-specific training to our customers, so that they are always aware of the latest ranges. We do this with tri-party engagement from our vendor partners. From a resources perspective it’s important
to talk about our D&I journey. Tis is something that we are extremely passionate and proud about, and shared learning is key. We have been lucky to partner with several key retail customers as well as vendor partners to work collaboratively to explore our D&I journey. Our own Employee Resource Groups have been making huge strides internally, and it’s been great to share what we have done to help educate and support our staff to help continue to make Exertis a great place to work. Tose shared experiences help strengthen our partnerships and this is something we will continue to do.
How do you help your partners manage working capital challenges, especially for high-demand, high-value products? We offer extensive solutions in this space; we feel we are best place to help support our partners with their working capital challenges they currently face. Tis can be by holding stock for our them and directly fulfilling their customer orders. We also offer generous payment and credit terms. In addition, this offers improved availability which ultimately drives sales, reduced shrinkage costs, reduced administrative costs, so several ways of driving real improvement and efficiency. Our logistics facility truly is world class, and something we are
enormously proud of, we are trusted by some of the largest brands and retailers in the UK to ship stock straight from our warehouse to their customers’ homes. Not only does this have a positive impact on working capital, it also supports our partners’ sustainability aspirations.
How did you prepare for and cope with the last Black Friday and Cyber Monday? We start planning around June. We use historical data and business intelligence to forecast our demand during peak periods, as well as working closing with our customers and vendors on opportunity and promotional plans. Tis feeds into our inventory and our operational planning. We
make decisions on where we store stock to ensure velocity, pick rates, and speed. Tis enables us to be more efficient, go faster and drive order fulfilment automation to minimise bottlenecks and delays.
We put enhanced focus on our infrastructure, from warehouse
space, equipment needed and IT systems, to ensure we can scale up to handle increased demand during peak days/periods. We invoke a broader out-of-hours escalation process to ensure we are always quick to react. We focus heavily on contingency planning for unforeseen issues
such as equipment failures, vendor delays, forecast volatility and weather disruptions. Having backup options to the backup options, and emergency protocols in place, can help mitigate disruptions to order fulfilment.
50 | March/April 2024 We regularly review and analyse order
fulfilment processes to identify areas for improvement. Tis includes post-peak reviews to establish what went well, what we need to do better and how do we continue to drive a competitive edge. We continually engage with our customers and our people for real- time feedback throughout peak. All of this combined helps our continual learning so that each year we deliver improvements.
How do you see the tech distribution landscape evolving in the coming years? Te tech distribution landscape is likely to continue evolving with a shiſt to a more ‘direct to consumer’ models, with an increased reliance on e-commerce platforms and growing digital marketplaces. Exertis is perfectly placed to provide these services. In addition, I feel data driven businesses will be successful, and this is also an area we have invested in. AI will have a part to play, using algorithms which can process
vast amounts of data, to help support partners with valuable market trends, customer preferences, and demand forecasts. Distribution is uniquely placed to help support customers’
growth ambitions. Working capital is a challenge for everybody, we focus on
offering what the customer needs today and we are ready for what they need tomorrow.
What advice would you give to businesses looking for a reliable partner? Choose somebody you can trust, and a partner that takes the time to align to your priorities. Exertis have unrivalled experience and expertise across our whole
organisation. We have a genuine customer-first mentality and a passion for people. We pride ourselves on operational excellence which enables you to trust that your customers are getting the service you promise.
What are your biggest achievements? From a business perspective, personally I would have to say the retail team we have built. I am privileged to call them ‘my team’. Tey are dedicated to what they do, and they work every day to help support our customers and vendor partners, whilst developing their own teams and making Exertis a great place to work and develop a career. Te team I have and what they deliver every day is my standout achievement. From a personal perspective my 3 children – aged 10, 12 and 17.
Tey continue to make me proud every day, I learn so much from them, and as you can imagine there is never a dull moment!
What are your future goals for the company? I want us to continue to grow and continue to expand our range of services. To enable this we need to stay laser focused on being our partners’ best partner, delivering best-in-class services and solutions. I also want us to continue to evolve our people-first culture where our staff develop, learn and progress to having really rewarding careers with us in this fantastic industry.
www.pcr-online.biz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
