Wholesale business supplies specialist Spicers has opened a new dedicated trade counter service at the firm’s Ashton-Under-Lyne HQ – set to serve all dealers in the Greater Manchester district and surrounding areas.
Following a ‘soft launch’ of the facility to two long-standing customers, Spicers has seen a rise in sales of almost 176% on these accounts.
Having recently reconfigured the firm’s 275,000 sq ft north west site – which boasts sophisticated warehousing and distribution centre technologies – the space offers a customer-facing trade counter, complete with a seating area, refreshment machines, and toilets for drivers collecting from the new facility.
The new trade counter enables customers to place multiple orders throughout the working day – and collect from 7am the next morning – allowing users to consolidate shipments and make delivery fleets more efficient, by curbing overhead costs, maximising in-house proficiencies, and reducing carbon footprints.
Supplying dealers with office products and workplace supplies across the UK and Ireland, Spicers stocks 1,000s of SKUs to ensure availability and efficiency in both warehouses.
Steve Morley, sales director at Spicers said: “We’ve always had a keen eye on dealer requirements, but the economic climate and market demand has encouraged us to expedite our dealer provision.
“We hope this move evidences our commitment to improving customer satisfaction, listening to feedback, and putting the dealers’ needs at the heart of our operation. In addition, we are the only wholesaler that offers this service in the UK.”
Looking at future plans for expanding the service offering, Steve continued: “To evolve the trade counter further, the second phase of this development will allow dealers to place ‘emergency orders’ throughout the day, which will be available for collection two hours later. This will enable local dealers to provide an unrivalled service against ‘big box’ competitors.
“Proposals have also been laid to further enhance the Spicers logistics service, granting dealers access to over 1 million products through the extended range initiative, maximising our investment in new infrastructure, and carrying out further enhancements to the SmartPad procurement portal.”
The Spicers brand – which, along with OT Group, was acquired by Paragon — has received a sizable investment to evolve its dealer provision and aid the 200-year-old name’s reintroduction to the wholesale market.
