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B&Q

The Brief

In 2009 B&Q wanted to control GNFR (Goods Not For Resale) spend and service quality from their supply chain for building maintenance and merchandising changes. They wanted to understand how the supply of pre-planned and emergency access equipment impacted their contractors’ ability to meet service level requirements They also wanted uniformity and assurance over pricing, plus the ability to call off exceptional service when the need arose.

 

Why WowNow Hire Ltd?

B&Q needed a single source UK-wide solution with guaranteed supply however challenging the request. They had already established a collaborative working relationship with WowNow Hire (WNH). The national coverage and guaranteed availability provided by WNH had been evidenced over a five-year transactional relationship and service levels experienced first-hand. B&Q chose to enter into a Managed Service Contract with WowNow Hire that committed each party to a long-term partnership with shared objectives.

Without exception Nationwide hire have been able to demonstrate their ability to deliver quality Powered Access solutions to each and every store location, under a strict Service Level Agreement with an impressive success rate. On time deliveries, mechanically sound machinery and high quality presentation of MEWPs have been our highest priority and WowNow Hire have consistently shown success rates for each of these key indicators of over 99% during the duration of the contract.

James Leggett – B&Q, Purchasing Manager

Explore The Whole Case Study

The Approach

WowNow hire established four steps to delivering success by:

  • Making a service proposition with remarkable levels of delivery. Focusing on such areas as; 4-hour same day delivery response, reporting on any breakdowns & response times, and committing to on time deliveries greater than 98%.
  • Proposing true national rates that covered Limerick, Inverness and Jersey, and all points in between.
  • Ensuring that best practice, compliance, and legislation were high on the agenda.
  • Proposing improved operational processes to allow good decision making and enhance communication.

We worked with B&Q to:

  • Understand their frustrations at depot level, in their maintenance departments and within finance.
  • Find & innovate practical solutions to industry issues.
  • Recommend practical actions to mitigate the risks and reso
  • Accelerate the success of the new enterprise.
  • Aligned ourselves with B&Q’s agenda providing knowledge and expertise to their internal teams.
  • Provided quality data to ensure transparency via agreed KPIs, SLAs and regular performance meetings.
  • Uncovered hidden costs that impacted on profitability.
  • Took responsibility for ensuring reliability.
  • Actively managed a supply chain of over 5 million products and 9000 delivery locations.

Our style was sensitive but penetrative, understanding B&Q’s requirements from all departments and building a bespoke solution that ticked all of the boxes.

  • Working with all of B&Q’s contractor supply chain we instilled structure, ensured conformity and reduced contractor non-attendance within SLA to less than 0.5%.
  • We worked successfully to reduce B&Q’s exposure to “off-contract spend”, consolidating pricing, ensuring best value and reducing overhead.

“WowNow have been the sole supplier of Powered Access to the whole of the B&Q estate for a number of years now. We have in excess of 350 stores across the whole of the UK and Ireland. Many of these stores are in geographically challenging locations.

Without exception WowNow hire have been able to demonstrate their ability to deliver quality Powered Access solutions to each and every store location, under a strict Service Level Agreement with an impressive success rate. On time deliveries, mechanically sound machinery and high quality presentation of MEWPs have been our highest priority and WowNow Hire have consistently shown success rates for each of these key indicators of over 99% during the duration of the contract.

WowNow Hire’s ability to consistently deliver, sometimes with as little as two hours’ notice, is impressive and contributes enormously to the contractors’ ability to get the job done, first time. I would not hesitate to recommend the services provided by WowNow Hire’s Major Contracts Team who are courteous, knowledgeable and driven to deliver the highest service levels possible”.

James Leggett – B&Q, Purchasing Manager