New distribution arrangements for our Ireland business are getting great feedback from customers only weeks since going live.
The upgraded service proposition – part of the wider Project Synergy – is also giving good reason to believe we can increase market share as our reputation improves further as a result.
Ireland Director Martin O’Reilly said: “It’s working absolutely fantastically. A number of customers have commented on how well it’s running, that they’re able to get full deliveries much quicker and we are still able to offer next day delivery if required.
“We will also get medium-to-long-term gains. It will enable us to build confidence in our customer service proposition and gain market share as our reputation for being a better service provider grows.”
Prior to the new arrangements, 700 priority products had been warehoused in Dublin by a third party company, who also picked and delivered orders as they came in, with next day delivery available on these products. This was supported by the Armitage warehouse but with waiting times of up to seven days.
In 2020, the Ireland team talked to customers about how important next day delivery was to them and have found most are happy with 48-hour timescales. Since then, colleagues from across the Ireland team, warehousing and supply chain have been working on new arrangements for distribution.
Launched in May this year, the new proposition means that supply of core products in Armitage is ring-fenced for Ireland and Northern Ireland and that orders are picked and packed by our own teams.
They are then shipped to Dublin postcodes within 48 hours, with 72-hour availability for the rest of Ireland and Northern Ireland. There is also 24-hour shipping for Dublin for emergency orders.
Martin added: “This has been a real team effort from people across the business. As well as making savings on our own costs, we have an improved service proposition which is tailored to our customers’ needs and is having an immediate impact, as well as giving us optimism for future benefits.”