Symbol Group – Innovation

SYMBOL GROUP –INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

UNITED WHOLESALE SCOTLAND

Technology can make life easier for retailers, but United Wholesale Scotland’s efforts during the pandemic also made life a whole lot safer for them too.

United Wholesale Scotland (UWS) was a worthy winner of the Symbol Innovation of the Year Award, recognised for its impressive commitment to leveraging the power of technology to improve its business. Among the initiatives that helped UWS take the crown was the launch of a brand new home delivery service at the start of lockdown in 2020. Built from the ground up, its home delivery app let retailers quickly and easily implement a direct-to-door service for their shoppers. This proved vital for vulnerable customers. UWS also implemented a raft of other technological innovations to streamline the business and ensure customer safety of its customers. These included a new ‘pay on your phone’ app which allowed retailers to pay for their purchases quickly and easily in depots, with minimised contact risk. It also helped retailers reduce the time spent in the depots. SLR Publisher Antony Begley commented: “Despite the fact that 2020 was an unbelievably difficult time for symbol groups and retailers with enormous supply chain challenges, UWS somehow managed to find the time to really ramp up their adoption of new technologies to improve their business, streamline their service and, most importantly, ensure that their staff and customers were safe and secure.

“The launch of a full home delivery solution is no mean feat and to have achieved it in such a short space of time is testament to the creativity and drive of UWS Managing Director Chris Gallacher and his team at the company.”