The past two-and-a-half years have stretched every organisation’s supply chain resilience, and Westland have used the experience to invest in even greater capability, capacity, and resilience. During 2021 alone, Westland shipped 7.8m hardware products to our UK and Irish customers; and while by their own admission they didn’t get it right on every line, and on every order. Westland have used the experience to guide some big investments which are now paying huge dividends.
Colin Smart, who leads the hardware supply chain team, explains the strategy. “Our key initiatives are broadly across three areas. Firstly, we are actively building our manufacturing capabilities in the UK and Europe, for example with our Eversharp secateurs last year, and our new NeverKink hose reels are all made in the UK. Our new watering can, the Can Can is also going to be made very close to home. Secondly, we have invested significantly into our Kent & Stowe tools factory, with not only triple the capacity vs 2021, but increasing the use of robotics to improve the output rate. And thirdly, we have finally for the first time since early 2020, been able to build our stock levels to provide a buffer, ironing out some of the peaks and troughs that the weather brings.”
Significantly, it’s not only the manufacturing side of the operation where large strides have been made. The new digital platform ‘Westland Live’ was quietly rolled out during 2021, and this promises to be a game changer for garden centres. As Natalie Searle, the leader of the Westland Digital team, explains “We’ve designed Westland Live from the ground up, to give priority access to the very heart of the Westland system. Once personally onboarded onto Westland Live, a customer can place and track all orders, access our stock status in real time, check key financials, and download our images and video content.
“Customers can also browse our showroom in Peterborough in 3D and access the new Westland digital training academy – at any time, day or night, 365 days a year. Westland Live is constantly evolving; we try to add new and exciting services and information every month that are robustly tested and rolled out. Westland Live is a completely free service, designed with our customers in mind, that we truly believe every garden centre will benefit from using.”
It seems Westland have used the experience of the last two years to transform their supply chain resilience, and really taken the opportunity to build a fulfilment capability that combines industry knowledge, modern manufacturing and the latest digital services. Additionally Westland Live will be showcased on the Westland stand at Glee 2022, and customers are invited to discover its capabilities for themselves.
Westland are in Hall 20 at Glee 2022, on stands F60-G61 & F40-G41, and look forward to welcoming you.
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