Insight

Faced with a warehouse at maximum capacity and struggling to hold additional stock to meet growing customer requirements, UK-based distributor Precision Technology Supplies Ltd (PTS) has invested in a new warehouse, increasing its efficiency and expanding its product offering. Here, Assistant Editor Becca England caught up with Sales Director Andy Knight to catch a glimpse of the new space.

Andy underlines: “We had reached the point where we had outgrown the building and couldn’t hold the quantities of stock that we needed to continue growing. Now, thanks to the expansion, we have more stock than ever and our stock levels are growing by the day.”

Offering an extensive range of stainless steel fasteners and precision turned parts, PTS supplies reliable and innovative products that fill the needs of an ever expanding market. The brand new warehouse space in East Grinstead, UK, covers 57,000 square feet (5,300m²) and has better positioned the company to provide an expanded capacity. 

Furthermore, with a new sales office based in the Midlands, PTS is putting itself in the heart of the fastener market. This was set-up at the end of last year by Commercial Director Gordon Davies along with Midlands Sales Manager Sarah Gearing to extend the company’s presence into new markets. Additionally, Lindsay Thompson joined the Midlands team in February this year. This, coupled with the larger warehouse and increased stocks of core items, has enabled PTS to extend same day shipping cut off times to 4:30pm – allowing customers to place last minute orders.

 “We want to make it easy for customers to buy any product. This is what we do. To further meet demand, on top of our standard range of stainless steel fasteners, which we develop ourselves, we also look to stock additional premium ranges, partnering with multiple brands including BUMAX^®, AMPG^®, Nord-Lock^® and Jubilee^®, among others,” says Andy.

The company’s commitment to the continuous growth of its product range is a strong driving force behind developing these
long-term partnerships. On this, PTS also revealed the latest additions to its ever growing product range. These include Lanfranco ESL all metal locking nuts, as well as a new range of precision shim washers designed for when tolerances are critical and a complimentary range of Metric nylon flat washers.

Andy comments: “When we add a new product range, we are now able to offer the full range, not just the fast selling sizes. Obviously, there will be some products that are slow to sell, but it’s important to go that step further for our customers and have a variety of products available.” 

“Our primary focus is quality,” outlines Andy. “It always has been. To ensure this quality, we don’t chop and change our suppliers, we don’t move just for the price, we work with our suppliers to develop products and make sure we’re getting the right quality. Price is important, but it’s not the most important.” 

To continue this quality service for its customers, PTS’ new building is optimised by the Warehouse Management System (WMS) fully implemented two years ago. This enables the company to harness data feedback as it optimises the new warehouse to make the space and processes as efficient as possible. “The implementation of our WMS was important,” reflects Andy. “It gives us the ability to create a heat map within the warehouse, so we can optimise stock location and increase picks. Ultimately, it gives us a lot more data and tools to make us more efficient.” 

As well as optimising its warehouse space, PTS also places great importance on its webshop enabling ‘real time’ stock levels to be shown and purchased. Catering to more than 120 countries worldwide, the distributor ensures that its eCommerce platform is always up to date, providing complete shipment tracking and traceability, 3D models and dimensional data of every product, as well as access to a variety of technical data – which is paramount in today’s market. 

“Due to the implementation of more and more regulations, such as the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulation, among many others, demand for data is at an ever increasing high from customers,” states Andy. “We’re always trying to update our webshop to make sure our customers have everything they need from us and so, working closely with our customers, we are making more data available including material test reports – at the click of a button.” 

All in all, PTS’ investment in its new warehouse was a necessary stepping stone in the company’s growth, allowing the company to provide a better service alongside a bigger range of products – with further room to grow. “The new site is definitely the most important investment for us in recent years,” highlights Andy. “It gives us the ability to go out and compete against our competitors, more than we’ve recently been able to – both at home and on the global stage.” 

He concludes: “PTS has the largest range of stainless steel products available and we’re bringing in new product ranges all the time to enhance our offering for our customers, which is the way for us to continue growing.”

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