Business Enquirer Issue 117 | Gtech | September 2023

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATOR TO INCREASE PRODUCT RANGE BY 50%

GTECH

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATOR TO INCREASE PRODUCT RANGE BY 50%

Known for its vacuums with patented AirLOC technology and an extensive range of cordless household tools, Gtech has become a British household name.

GTECH PROJECT

DIRECTED BY: RYAN WILLIAMS

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: LAURA WATLING

Despite being synonymous with disruptive innovation in its field, CEO and inventor, Nick Grey, has identified its time to offer a wider range of choice to its loyal customers - old and new.

“Our products, like the cordless AirRAM vacuum, have created awareness for the Gtech brand. Synonymous with quality and longevity, our customers want to increase the Gtech products in their homes, as it’s a name they can trust,” explained Nick.

With this in mind, Nick and his team are currently working towards expanding its product range by a further 50%.

In the next month alone the market will see the launch of Gtech’s latest generation AirRAMs and stick vacuum cleaners.

Nick Grey, founder of Gtech

Created With Customers In Mind

Having built Gtech from the ground up, what’s important to Nick is bringing tools to market which make a difference. In fact, that’s the story behind the original cordless AirRAM, invented in 2012.

“The development of the cordless AirRAM came from me watching my elderly mother. She was using a dustpan and brush to clean her stairs, scared of dropping her heavy vacuum or tripping over its cables,” Nick shared, “we started with a fan from a 1950s vacuum cleaner, which was less likely to block up than vacuums of the time, and a powerful brush bar to remove stubborn dirt. I discovered it could run for 40 minutes from a rechargeable battery, which was ample time for stairs alone. We added a long handle to it, and the concept for the AirRAM was born!”

“I’ve been an inventor since I was a child. There’s something really special about being inspired by a problem that needs solving, and then going through the design, marketing, and sales process, ultimately seeing users benefitting from your product,” he continued.

Built to Last

One of the world’s most talked about problems at present is how consumers can integrate sustainability at every touch point. Gtech has been answering this for some time.

“Energy consumption is one thing I can confidently say we do better than our competitors,” said Nick. The AirRAM, for example, only uses 80 watts for power, in comparison to well-known competitors which can use over 1000 watts.

The Gtech Hub

Clean, Green Delivery

We have always focused on providing the best service in our industry, utilising the best technology. Our inclusive and diverse culture allows us to recruit, retain and develop the most customer centric people. Now with our 4th pillar, we have set out how we will become the most sustainable delivery company.

DPD has implemented a full-spectrum of measures to ensure it achieves its vision of becoming the most sustainable delivery service in the UK.

The UK Business Delivering Now and For the Future

DPD is one of the UK’s leading express parcel delivery companies, delivering over 400 million parcels a year. The business, which has a team of over 20,000 people and a fleet of 10,000 vehicles in the UK, is taking strides in both technology and sustainability, aiming to be recognised as the UK’s most sustainable delivery company. The first delivery company in the UK to introduce a onehour delivery window and with apremium next-day and express parcel delivery service, DPD offers the best in user experience. It has also built a network of 6,000 Pickup shops should the recipient miss their delivery.

Delivering on… Sustainability

DPD’s parent company, Geopost, is the first global parcel delivery company to have both its near and long-term CO2 emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The landmark approval scientifically endorses Geopost’s plan to reach net-zero by 2040. DPD UK has confirmed that the UK operation is on track to achieve these targets and, where possible, exceed them. DPD has implemented a full- spectrum of measures to ensure it achieves its vision of becoming the most sustainable delivery service in the UK. In 2018, DPD opened the UK’s first all-electric parcel delivery depot in Westminster. Now, it has over 3,000 electric vehicles operating across the country. In addition, it has announced plans to deliver to 30 of the largest towns and cities in the UK with only all-electric final mile delivery vehicles, by the end of 2023. As well as decarbonising its collection and delivery van fleet, in 2022 DPD converted 60% of its 1,600 strong HGV fleet from diesel to renewable biofuel, with the remaining vehicles to be converted this year. Established three years ago, DPD’s Project BREATHE is a major air quality monitoring programme across six of the biggest cities in the UK: Birmingham, Leeds, London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Cardiff. The programme has implemented over 400 air quality sensors on the roofs of DPD vans and DPD PickUp shops close to schools and play areas in the cities, providing 1.5 million pollution readings a day. In addition, buildings used across the DPD network are powered by solar panels and renewable electricity, while 100% of waste avoids landfill. Meanwhile, recycling initiatives generate cash for the innovative DPD Eco Fund. The DPD Eco Fund is financed solely through the firm’s circular economy initiatives. One initiative sees plastic shrink wrap used throughout the operation broken down, and recycled into new shrink wrap. The money generated from this, along with the recycling of wooden pallets, funds sustainable projects benefiting the environment.

Delivering on… Technology

Ensuring accessibility for customers, DPD’s app enables parcel recipients to tailor their delivery preferences so that their driver is fully briefed before every delivery. This includes the ability to leave detailed instructions of a ‘leave safe’ place, with the option to add a photograph, improving customer experience. Using the DPD app, recipients can also

track their delivery in real time, and receive a head’s up ‘You’re next’ notification, so there are no surprises. In March 2022, DPD launched a ‘More Time Needed’ option on the DPD app, allowing customers to inform their DPD driver that they need more time to get to the door. Furthering user experience, the app also enables parcel customers to add their precise what3words address. What3words supports drivers to find an exact location specified by the recipienteven down to a side-passage. Whilst apps are commonplace, DPD has taken innovation to the next level by trialling autonomous robot deliveries. Starting the trials in Milton Keynes in July 2022, the robots have since travelled almost 500 miles and successfully performed over 2,500 delivery trips. Following the successful trial, DPD has identified up to 30 UK depot locations which could potentially deploy robots and has confirmed plans to expand autonomous robot deliveries to 10 UK towns and cities in the next 12 months. Most recently, the robots were introduced in Raunds, Northamptonshire, in July 2023.

Delivering on… Careers

DPD is focused on creating a happy, inclusive and highperforming culture in which everyone can flourish and feel a sense of belonging. The business celebrates diversity, and its Diversity, Equality and Inclusion strategy aims to ensure that recruitment practices, training and development opportunities, and career progression treat individuals objectively and on the basis of their own merit and ability. A testament to the implementation of its strategy, in November 2022, DPD UK won the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion award at the Personnel Today Awards. The judges were particularly impressed by DPD’s Inspire initiative, which provides supported internships for young people with disabilities or special educational needs, designed to enable them to achieve sustainable paid employment. Since 2018, DPD has retained 100% of those who have taken part in the programme, with apprentices working in IT, administration and inclusive digital marketing. With its innovation, sustainability, and people focus, DPD is swiftly becoming the delivery service of choice to the biggest high-street names, premium brands and online retailer’s across the UK.

DPD has built a long-standing, 10 year relationship with GTech, which is mutually respected. Jonathan Pratt, DPD’s Director of Sales & CRM commented, “DPD is very proud to be Gtech’s delivery partner. It is fantastic to work alongside a brand that not only shares the same values but keeps pushing innovation to new levels too. The Gtech delivery experience has to be great every time and we work incredibly hard to ensure that is the case and to provide parcel customers with the ability to personalise every delivery.”

“There’s a misconception that more power means a better job,” Nick added, “but we have innovated our products to ensure that our products clean better, rather than requiring more power”

In addition, Gtech products are built to last and easy to maintain, designing for a 20 year lifecycle. This is another cause for product range expansion, as Gtech sees less repeat business on the same product by the same customer.

Functionality Throughout

Whilst he displayed his skills for inventing as a child, tinkering with and fixing hand-me-down toys, his real entry into design and manufacture was with Vax.

Starting his career with Vax in 1989 as a lab technician, Nick found his home within the design team. His time at the vacuum manufacturers saw him work

his way up to design engineer, senior design engineer, design manager, finally reaching a position managing the engineering department.

“I’ve always had the desire to question how things worked, looking at things with a different point of view. My time at Vax gave me a wonderful opportunity to explore and develop that, but ultimately I wanted to be designing my own products for my own company,” he said.

Whilst Nick still takes a very hands on approach with the business, as a leader he considers it his responsibility to inspire, motivate, and give the Gtech team clear goals to work towards.

In 2016, Gtech moved to its current Worcester site, which houses the entire Gtech team, from innovation, design and engineering, to creative, marketing, sales, and customer services, it’s the hub for everything Gtech.

Sponsoring Brentford’s stadium

Not just the face of the brand, Nick is still very much involved with designing products as well as overseeing the operations, and spending time with what he describes as the “Gtech family”.

In recent years, Gtech has strategically reduced employee numbers, ensuring that everyone’s role is functional, with a clear purpose and the opportunity to add value.

“We’ve seen business success from having a small yet functional team. It gives our team the opportunity to be assigned a task and see it through, making the goals clear and more achievable. I encourage peer to peer work and creating a common goal” explained Nick, "I'm very proud of the team and what we’ve achieved”.

And whilst some companies are getting bad press for reducing staff numbers in favour of AI, this isn’t something Nick is looking to implement quite yet.

“There are clear benefits with AI, including efficiencies in R & D, but our innovations are built on a foundation of human care and attention” he said.

www.gtech.co.uk