Five ways wholesalers can build profits through innovation

Charles Smith is a journalist with experience writing for the UK’s grocery and foodservice wholesale industry

1. Improving

Marketing Strategy Through

the expansion of product range and customer base, working more closely with suppliers and providing an improved

Customer Service

Parfetts concentrates on developing promotions, delivering great margins, and ensuring these are clearly and consistently communicated to customers.

The company has invested in its online channels to ensure they are easy to use, offer advice and guidance, and help grow customers’ businesses. Parfetts has also given its field team marketing tools to recruit more customers – to their fascia group and more generally – growing its customer base and sales, and further enhancing the margins it offers.

Pricecheck has invested in upgrading its website to offer the suppliers it works with more marketing and advertising solutions.

This has presented new ways for brands to promote products, crosssell and offer special deals as they create online promotions.

The latter also recently extended their marketing capabilities to supporting brands’ needs directly, whether working on joint marketing plans or acting as their marketing team.

2. Increasing profit margins through data analytics, benchmarking customers and harnessing data insight

Confex’s data-insight platform has helped suppliers and Confex wholesalers make informed decisions on gaps across stock, ranging and sales.

Parfetts monitors which lines are more popular and ensures these are given prominent positioning and are continually on sale. It works closely with suppliers to ensure consistent availability and flags availability issues. Parfetts also provides retail customers with a full store-development service, based on data from their store and the wider estate.

Pricecheck has built unique next-best line selling tools they use with their brand distribution contracted partners, which rank brand owners’ priority SKUs, and based on sales data, make it clear what the next best line target is. Its 40+ sales force then fill those gaps with a targeted customer list. They can also monitor and analyse customer buying trends and set benchmarks to show when active customers are lapsing in volume and frequency.

3. Developing staff to make them more productive and engaged, and offering them better mental-health support

Parfetts’ employee ownership model means every team member has a voice and input into how the business is run. It develops its people with a training programme, and promotes from within where possible. Its wide range of employee benefits extends from cost-of-living, sales and profit-share bonuses, to help with medical expenses and access to debt and mental-health support.

Pricecheck has made improvements across its well-being package, covering physical and mental health, and financial support. It offers annual well-being checks with its partner, Westfield Health, and provides 24/7 access to mental-health support and health advisors, supported by internal mental-health and physical first-aiders. Pricecheck has also implemented a 7pm–7am email curfew, and introduced working from home and flexible working.

It is currently extending its training capabilities to encourage staff to own their personal development, with KPIs for departments.

4. Transitioning to digitalisation through a personal online experience, developing apps and offering IT services

Confex has been supporting its wholesalers’ move into digital for the past decade by helping with websites, apps and social media. Parfetts is investing in online resources to give customers the best possible experience, mirroring their cashand-carry service. It is also developing an updated app that will be available to a broader customer base, offering information and advice. Parfetts continues to expand its cash-and-carry network, encouraging customers to come into depots for help, support and access to depot-only promotions.

The company invests in its field team, with retail development advisors allocated to individual stores and the same advice available in depots. Pricecheck’s internal systems enable it to create unique customer profiles, including categories engaged with and the type of customers it services, enabling the wholesaler to create a more personalised experience. The goal is to replicate the insight and service usually only possible by speaking with sales teams.

5. Increasing efficiency through automation, robotics, warehouse management solutions, inventory-management software, electric vehicles and energy-efficient facilities

Confex has worked with an energy partner for many years, assisting their wholesalers in weathering the current energy crisis and providing help and support for their sustainability agendas.

Parfetts’ deployment of Optrak distribution software allows for sophisticated data analytics and informs more efficient route planning. Pricecheck’s WMS system operates across two sites, enabling it to plan effective pick flows, manage stock levels and reduce lead times.

To support its growing B2C offering, it has built a dedicated small-pick area to service small orders, and fulfil orders placed on customers’ websites and marketplaces such as Amazon. Savona Foodservice is delivering to customers in North Devon and Oxford with 100% electric dual-temperature vehicles, the first of their kind in the UK and Europe, which will save 24,960kg of carbon per year. Savona has also implemented a new WMS system and ePod devices, resulting in significant reductions in paper use. l

With thanks to:

Tom Gittins, managing director, Confex; Jamie Ferguson, head of marketing, Parfetts; Darren Goldney, commercial director, Pricecheck; Darren Holloway, director of central operations, Savona Foodservice