15 02 2022
2021 was a challenging year for us, coming off the back of the crazy Christmas of 2020. Cast your mind back… the country had been in lockdown from the 5th of November and online sales had gone through the roof. This led to a busy January through to March with intermittent tiers and lockdowns when restrictions started to be slowly eased over the 4 months until July 19th when all remaining sectors reopened.
Online trading had reached peaks not seen previously…
- The proportion spent online soared to 35.2% in January 2021, the highest on record; this compares with 29.6% in December 2020 and 19.5% reported in January 2020.*
- All store types reported an increase in their proportion of online spending in January 2021 when compared with December 2020.*
Here’s a run down of what was happening behind the scenes…
Shiny New Warehouse
We knew that the trend was unlikely to be reversed and although there was likely to be some drop off from the ‘lockdown’ online sales levels the growth would continue. As a business we took a good hard look at the pros and cons from 2020 and one key area we knew we needed to make changes to our space, if we wanted to deliver another successful year then we needed more room.
Site 3 became high on our agenda. Our Operations Manager oversaw the project from start to finish installing everything we needed to ‘go live’ including lighting, electrics, workstations, floor layouts, pick bins and staff. The 3rd site opened for trade at the Start of September 2021. The additional space ensured we were able to deliver Black Friday and Christmas peaks smoothly.
Staff
Jack Shilton, in his 7th year with the business continued in his role as Operations Manager and oversaw the opening of our third site from start to finish.
We appointed our new Head of Client Relations; we’re pleased to say this was an internal promotion from our Client Service team. Theresa Farrelly took the step up and forms a key role in assisting our clients with any queries they may have.
Owen Prosser-Stock also took on a new role as Head of Resource, overseeing the staffing levels and managing HR and staff incentives.
With these and some other internal structural changes we have seen our team create strong bonds and great working relationships adhering to our core values. https://thepacksmartgroup.com/culture/
Clients
We have added many new clients to our roster and spent time listening to our existing clients to understand what other services we can offer and to improve on what we already do. It is always a pleasure to see our clients grow and hear how outsourcing has made such a difference to them.
“Pack Smart are integral partners of our business and have really helped us grow with their exceptional service and personable approach, even during the most difficult times during the pandemic”
“Pack Smart have been a very supportive logistics provider since we swapped to them in the middle of 2021. Their customer services team is warm and helpful and always responds very quickly and professionally which is really important in the quick paced world of logistics!”
Campaigns
We managed several high-profile music releases shipping large volumes of audio product and merchandise across the world and providing Chart Reporting leading to many high Chart positions and a few number 1’s – always a great feeling for the team.
It was also wonderful to be able to welcome our first band back in to manage the signing of their audio ready for us to ship direct to their fanbase. This is an additional service we have always been delighted to provide and we hope that we will be able to continue with this throughout 2022.
With live music back on track we were able to get back into ticketing and shipped thousands of gig tickets for multiple events across the UK.
Other challenges
During the year there were many supply chain issues which caused issues for our clients with late stock arrival. At Pack Smart we pride ourselves in delivering efficiently and going over and above expectation to complete projects in short time frames and exceed our client expectations.
COVID also bought with it wellbeing and welfare challenges. It has been key for us to continue to keep our staff safe during another challenging 12 months.
Looking into 2022
This year we aim to continue to grow our business and support our existing clients in their continued growth. Promote our USPs and add likeminded people to our Pack Smart family.
If you would like to discuss your fulfilment requirements or take a tour of our new fulfilment centre get in touch with seanna.holland@thepacksmartgroup.com today.
*Source https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/january2021
