Whistl Magazine Autumn 2018

Whistl Magazine Autumn 2018

Whistl magazine Autumn 2018

Afulfilling year Whistl Fulfilment celebrates first anniversary with new growth plans

TIPS ON SHIPPING OVERSEAS DIGITAL DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS PREMIER HOUSEWARES’ PARTNERSHIPWITH PARCELHUB ADAY INTHE LIFE OFATELESALES MANAGER

EX -TNT EXPRESS MD JOINSWHISTL

News

Wells Said

We’re delighted to tell you thatWhistl Fulfilment is celebrating its first anniversarywith the announcement of exciting newplans for expansion and a newmember of the team! Afulfilling year

Time flies when you’re busy growing and evolving the business. It’s difficult to believe that we acquired the fulfilment house PrismDM twelvemonths ago andwe’re now celebrating our first anniversary. Since then, our fulfilment division has grown and our customers have grown too. Our rapid expansion brings with it the need for new and talented people to develop the business, and I’mdelighted towelcomeMark Elward as newCommercial Director of our Fulfilment operations in Rushden and Farnborough. We’re alsodelighted towelcomeAlistair Cochrane as our newChief Development Director. We’ve known Alistair for a long time during his reign as Managing Director at our previous sister company TNT Express. His wealth of expertise in national and international logistics will be invaluable in helping usmeet our ambitious growth plans in the parcel sector. Giving customers choice, value and outstanding service has always been our priority. It’s the foundation for our growth at home and overseas, and I’mpleased to say we’re continually winning newbusiness across a wide range of sectors as a result. Recent business wins include leading tech retailer Box.co.uk, the UK’s largest independent nursery retailer PreciousLittleOne, Skinny Coffee Club, Anglian Water and independent grocery retailer, Nisa Local. There’s certainly lots to look forward to as we expand the business and invest in growing our parcels, fulfilment and international operations. I hope you enjoy this issue. In themeantime, we’ll keep you posted on all the latest news @whistluknews NickWells Chief Executive Whistl

commitment to bring greater efficiency, choice andvalue to online andmulti-channel retailers, andwhywe have broadened the range of goodswe handle to suit customers’ needs. Investing in the expansion ofthe Rushden depot meanswe’ll nowbe able to attract more newclients such as Box. co.ukwhich has over 150,000 product lines including bulky and fragile items such asTVs and PCmonitors listed on theirwebsite. Lieneke Happel, Managing Director of Whistl Fulfilment, said: “Wow, what a year we’ve had – but there is still a lot ofwork to do and improvements to bemade.We have existing customerswho are growing very fast and need our continued support and investment.With newpeople joining our team, we are confident thatWhistl Fulfilment will deliverthrough the peak season and continue to grow.” To find out more aboutWhistl Fulfilment email [email protected] orvisit www.whistl.co.uk/fulfilment

Afurther 60,000 sq ft of operational space will nowbe added to our Rushden fulfilment depot giving us roomto growand strengthen our existingwarehousing, fulfilment and packing facilities. Plus to help us develop ourfulfilment business both at home and overseas, we have appointedMark Elward as our new Commercial Directorforthe Rushden and Farnborough operations. Mark brings extensive expertise from his previous role at logistics and fulfilment specialist DKGroup alongwith a breadth offulfilment andwarehousing knowledge gathered fromhis timeworkingwith Fedex across Europe. Our expansion plans build on the impressive successwe’ve seen in the last 12 months. In fact sincewe acquired PrismDM in 2017we have gained a newclient every month froma variety of sectors including beauty, electronics, luxury goods and charity, and successfully grown our offering to our existing customer, BrandAlley. Such rapid growth is a result of our ongoing

Mark Elward New Commercial Director

In the past year they have been able to continue to support our growth, enabling us tomove a physical warehouse location with minimal business impact. The best compliment I can make is that I feel they are part of the team, rather than an external partner. JamieWadhams, COO, SportPursuit

Lieneke Happel MD Whistl Fulfilment

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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2018

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All abroad Expanding internationally or exporting can bring great opportunities to grow your business but it needs careful planning. Michael Boulton, International Sales Director at Whistl offers a fewtips on shipping overseas.

UK Doordrop spend remains stable despite uncertainty

For every 100 doordrops received, 10 are passed on and shared, and each piece is revisited three times. In fact 14% of doordrops continue to live in the home after fourweeks. Doordrops live longer

Between2013and2017theannual doordropnet spendby UKbusinesses remainedstabletotalling£263min2017, comparedto£260min2013despitepolitical uncertainty and legislativechangescausedbyGDPRandBrexit.

Sell yourself Make sure you tell people that you now offer international delivery, otherwise you could find the uptake of orders from overseas countries is a lot lower than expected. Online marketing through social media, blogs and email offers a cost-effective solution, just remember to target those customers in countries you’re trying to reach. Give customers choice Think about offering optional extras. For instance many international customers want the extra security of parcel tracking so that they knowwhen their items will arrive. Loyalty bonuses for returning customers, day-specific deliveries and free shipping can also help increase the uptake of orders abroad. Formore information about international shipping options and advice about exporting overseas email [email protected] or visit www.whistl.co.uk/ international

Do your homework Ask yourself whether now is the right time to start doing business overseas. Investigate whether there is a clear and growing demand for the type of products or services you offer and a base of potential clients with the interest andmoney to buy. It’s also wise to explore the regulatory environment and whether there’s any red tape. Develop a strategy Before you can ship products, you’ll first need to decide your pricing strategy for shipping. Are you going to absorb some or all of the cost, pass the full cost of shipping on to your customers, offer free or flat-rate shipping or a range of options to suit the time, tracking requirements and budget of your customers? Whatever you decide, make sure it’s covered by your budget and is attractive to customers.

and cost-effective and is a lot easier than managing deliveries yourself. Make sure your carrier provides the international connections, service options and flexibility you need. Check the red tape There is legislation to comply with and it can be complex, however, with help and advice from the government and trade bodies set up to support British exports, and working with the right delivery partner, the red tape associated can be easily untangled. Check whether there are any importing restrictions on the products you sell to the countries you want to deliver to so that you don’t end up with a lot of disappointed customers! imperative you know exactly what they will be and factor them into your overall budget. This could influence the countries you offer international parcel delivery to, especially for small businesses that may only be able to provide the service to EU or European countries, for example. Set a budget Shipping rates will vary from country to country, but it’s

Annual volumes of direct mail have fallen considerably over the same period from6.6 billion in 2013, to 5.7 billion in 2017. Press andmagazine advertising has also fallen over the same period. However doordrops, a proven acquisition channel for advertisers seeking reach and volume, continue to show resilience despite a long-term decline in othermedia. “Traditional print media provides consumers with a personal experience – something tangible they can interact with, take with them and go back to at their own leisure. Its unique nature makes it a robust advertising medium and the figures over the past few years Marketing Association. “Whilst industry volumes have declined over a four-year period, this will in part be a result of improved campaign planning, printing and targeting techniques, which are reflect this,” stated Rachel Aldighieri, MD of the Direct

beneficial to the reputation of the medium.” While the extent of GDPR’s impact on advertising mediums will likely be revealed over the coming years, it is unlikely that it will have a negative impact on doordrops. Aldighieri added: “Unlike many othermarketing channels, doordrops are GDPR compliant from the offbecause

they do not require any personally identifiable

information. We’re already noticing a

newwave of interest in the channel from client organisations and we are

confident that this will continue.” JICMAIL, the industry’s flagship measurement system launched at the beginning of the year, now gives mail a level playing field for the first time, enabling doordrops to be accurately compared with other channels.” saidAldighieri.

Choose the right delivery partner

Transport and distribution are key considerations when planning for international trade. Choosing the right delivery partner is essential to ensure your exporter’s operation is efficient

To find out howdoordropmarketing can help you boost business, email [email protected] or visit www.idoordrop.com

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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2018

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Let’s get digital Here atWhistl we always aimtomake your life easierwhich iswhywe nowoffer a suite of digital communication applications that can help improve theway youmanage, store, control and share time-critical information. Developed to integrate seamlessly with your own SaaSapplications that improvedocumentworkflow Secure Portal – The safe way for your customers to access multiple documents online

Turn your mailings green Direct mail continues to be one of themost effectiveways to get yourmessage into the hands of a captive audience, but with ongoing concerns about its impact on the environment howcan you act responsiblywhilst still making the most of this powerful medium? Here are some of our top tips.

Keep it clean Clean >Page 1 Page 2-3 Page 4-5 Page 6-7 Page 8-9 Page 10-11 Page 12

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