Gross sales Layer joined the workforce behind BuildingMaterials.co.uk at Good Manufacturing unit Expo 2022 to debate all issues PIM. Mike Smee, Income & Operations at Gross sales Layer, sat down with the workforce to debate how utilizing a PIM has remodeled their enterprise.
Inform us about BuildingMaterials.co.uk and your roles within the enterprise
“We have been based by Phil Lidgerton in 2003, with over 16 years of commerce expertise. Phil additionally labored in Distribution for 2 of the most important PLC firms; specializing in Ceilings, Drywall, Insulation and Partitioning. While working within the commerce, he discovered there was a spot available in the market for smaller companies and to supply extra private recommendation.
At the moment at ConstructingSupplies.co.uk we specialize within the provide of constructing and building supplies to contractors and finish customers; this contains drylining, timber, insulation, suspended ceilings, partitioning, SFS metal framing methods, FSC certification timber, normal constructing supplies, and every little thing in between!
Our commerce specialists discover clients the best product, on the proper value. Working carefully with a number of the greatest producers and distributors within the UK, we give an unmatched service to clients who require constructing merchandise.
Mitchell Creffield is Head of Enterprise Progress. He’s been with the corporate for 10 years and began in gross sales. He was the one who discovered about PIMs and commenced the journey of discovering one of the best resolution for us as we had big development plans which meant how we have been beforehand working merely wouldn’t work.
Elizabeth Hobley has been with the corporate for 4 years and began as eCommerce Administrator the place she would replace costs however is now Product Operations Supervisor and has a workforce of 5 Product Content material Managers who all use the PIM to take care of their product areas.
Mitchell Welter is a Product Content material Managers and has had essentially the most vital position within the implementation of the PIM. He was one of many first Product Content material Managers and has been right here since January 2022.”
What modifications have you ever skilled over the past 12-24 months, contemplating enterprise development and challenges?
“First was the size of the problem. We’ve 500 completely different suppliers throughout 537 completely different classes with 50,000 SKUs, that are set to triple. These have been being held in a number of areas, spreadsheets and recordsdata in numerous repositories. Product info is distributed to us in all completely different codecs, so amassing content material from suppliers was difficult. Lengthy product launch cycles, attributable to inefficiencies in cross-department collaboration, workflow and knowledge sharing has slowed all our processes.”
It is attention-grabbing to listen to you speak about your challenges as a enterprise, notably in gentle of the outstanding development you have skilled. Why do you’re feeling that accelerated your want for a PIM resolution?
“We would have liked a PIM to raised set up our merchandise and assist us so as to add extra merchandise and ranges faster. Earlier than the PIM, just one particular person at a time may make bulk modifications to the location which we knew wasn’t sensible for the dimensions we plan on rising to. We additionally needed to cut back general enterprise prices by saving time with a platform that streamlined duties. We noticed the client demand and the necessity to promote by way of completely different channels and marketplaces like Amazon and eBay which we’re in the midst of establishing now. With the ability to management what merchandise are offered on completely different channels is essential for us as we don’t need to promote all merchandise on all channels.
We regarded for a PIM resolution that would do every little thing we have been already doing however faster, extra organized, and on a bigger scale. We thought-about different options, however SL ticked the entire packing containers for a good value. In addition they take heed to our strategies and do common updates and enhancements to the platform.”
Why did you choose Gross sales Layer?
“There are a variety of completely different PIMs on the market and we had demos with 6/7 different suppliers. Gross sales Layer was superb at answering queries and was upfront in regards to the limitations the platform had (not that it had many and all the opposite suppliers had the identical limitations). They’ve an skilled workforce they usually helped us with integration and developed the connector to swimsuit our wants. The Platform is simple to work in, extremely versatile and being a cloud-based resolution means it isn’t IT dependent when modifications have to be made.
Together with different modifications within the enterprise, Gross sales Layer enabled us to scale the enterprise by 35-40% 12 months on 12 months.”
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