| The Commentary Box |
August 2007 |
|||||||
Talking
as I do to dozens of bodyshop owners, each week, the message of complaint
on cash flow is getting louder, especially as the problems relating to
extended periods of payment seem to intensify. Then, and to further
compound this problem, two new factors
are making an unwelcome appearance. Not only will recent bank interest
rate rises place even more pressure on borrowings and commercial mortgage
repayments, the forth coming disruption planned by Royal Mail can only
serve to further delay payments sent through the postal system. So, while I can offer no comfort in this area, make sure you are well prepared to face a completely unwarranted extension of the financial siege that we have all become far too familiar with. So, having got that out of the way, let us move on to better things and allow me to welcome Andy Lovett into the Commentary Box. PW "Andy, many thanks for joining me in the Commentary Box this month and can I set the ball rolling by asking you to tell us some background on Rigby Taylor?" AL "Thanks Peter, Rigby Taylor was formed back in 1919 and has always had its headquarters in Bolton. Herbert Rigby and Stanley Taylor supplied soaps and greases to local textile industry, before diversifying into chemicals and paints. Since that time the Group has developed a comprehensive range of products and services for its customer base. We have Sales offices in Bolton, Crewe and Halifax. Rigby Taylor Paint's customers can be classified into three main areas: Automotive, Industrial, and Commercial Vehicle finishers. We feel that our innovative ideas and practices place us at the forefront in our marketplace and its certainly our intention to provide our customers, both existing and prospective, with products and systems that are at the cutting edge of today's technology, that's why we have Lechler and Glasurit as our leading Paints brands." PW "That's interesting because, as you know, I have a good working relationship with Lechler and know that their product range is widely used by many body shops.So, could you tell us something about that side of your business?" AL "Yes, when I first started with Rigby Taylor 5 years ago we handled no fewer than 5 Paint Brands, across all of our sites. We narrowed this down to just two, Glasurit and Lechler, without losing one account. We converted everyone to either of these brands. Glasurit was our Leading brand then, with Lechler being more of a commodity brand. But, since their launch of Hydrofan (Lechlers Waterbase Offering), its has come on leaps and bounds and really over the last 12 months we have converted more accounts to Lechler than our leading brand and this is for numerous reasons." (Cost, Non Political) PW "While I know that Lechler offer much in the way of support, and back up, do they install their systems, or do Rigby Taylor carry out this side of the programme"? AL "At Rigby Taylor I employ 2 Technical people, both of whom are fully conversant with the Lechler Brand. In fact, as we believe that you have to be in charge of your own destiny this enables us to be flexible where needed. So, if we have to install straight away we can, and if Lechler need some technical support we are always on hand to help." PW "So, if a bodyshop was giving serious thought to the actual profitability of paint, and wanted to fully explore the Lechler's "quality without compromise" statement in more detail, would they come to you first or go directly to Lechler" AL "As you know, I have a sales team of 8 people and they all know how to promote the brand as we work very closely with Lechler; after all we one of the top three suppliers of Lechler. My sales people have post coded areas which they call upon week in and week out, visiting old and new customers so we talk the customer through the process, and sometimes even close the sale. As you know, while the Paint Manufacturer sales staff cover a wide area, each of my sales people know their own territory very well. But, in answer to your question, yes customers come to both of us, but with regular reviews, we are able to prioritise which ones come first." PW "Right, that's very useful to know the steps bodyshops need to be taking, if they want to look more closely at their paint profitability. In fact, with margins so tight on everything these days, this is an area that body shops should always keep under review. However, and moving on, can we now look at consumables which, as you know, is very much a catch all title that covers many areas in the bodyshop. So, when it comes to consumables, do Rigby Taylor offer an all embracing services, or are there some areas that you leave uncovered"? AL "We sell all the leading Brands from 3M, Mirka Teroson, Sca Upol and many more as its is good to offer a choice. We sell anything from a electrical connector to capital equipment (spray booth, heaters). My challenge to any Bodyshop Fellowship member is that, on any like for like item, I will not be beaten on price. A lot of end users think that because they buy paint they are obliged o buy their consumables from the same source, which isn't exactly true." PW "As you know, some weeks ago I was fortunate enough to meet several of your field staff, in fact you front line troops who spend most of their time in body shops. So, in a market place when bodyshop numbers are falling and supply competition is fierce, do your staff have any "secret weapons" when it comes to securing new business and, of course, ring fencing your retaining customers"? AL "Yes they do. I think you have to, as a Sales Person, or even as a technical person you always need something up your sleeve. By having regular reviews with your customers you can have an open and frank discussion, on each others thoughts and feelings. I have one secret weapon question to the Bodyshop Fellowship members. If you are using 2-inch (48mm) masking tape ask yourself why? The answer will probably be because I have always used it or everyone else is using it. While these are just a couple of stock answers, here is some practical advice. Order 36mm from now on and you have just saved pounds over 12 months, as it is the same cost as 48mm, but you get more rolls in a box." PW "Well, that's sound advice but as Rigby Taylor is very much a North West based company, do you provide a national service to body shops"? AL "We do offer a national service. What with electronic procurement, and technology moving forward all the time, we are ready for the future. This is a logistical element, and while we are all sleeping, products are moving up and down the country every night of every week. PW "Staying with your field force, hopefully that's the right description, do you get feed back from them, that is do they provide you with information on products that are achieving good results, while highlighting any under performers; not that you have any of these I'm sure?" AL "My view on this Peter is that as in any business you need a good balance, so yes I have good performers and I also have a few plodders. The aim is not to have any under achieving products, so yes I think I have the right balance." PW "Drawing upon my experiences, when it comes to consumables, most body shops look for a total package, that is one that embraces supply, quality, delivery and support, all allied to price. Would you go along with this?" AL "Yes I do Peter, but how often does the average bodyshop run a price check comparison. Maybe they ought to tender their business every 12 months, to see what the market offers." PW "Yes, you are so right. While price can be important, very often buying cheap can involve buying twice. Equally well, with the emphasis always being upon the quality of repair, using poor materials can often add to the actual cost of repair. So, in your opinion, do you think that enough bodyshop owners talk to their technicians when it comes to ordering consumables, or are far too many still price orientated. Perhaps a bit of a "hot potato" but I'd welcome your thoughts anyway?" AL "Peter we touched on this before. Price is important, but it needs to be quality without compromise; whether it be a disc or a tin of paint. A lot of time all shops need to have tighter control on consumables, such as separate workstations and they should be measured and monitored. When we take on a new account, we conduct a full audit of existing stock, highlighting overstocks to get them down to an acceptable level. As we offer an impress stock facility, this is an area that can see my money, or theirs, tied up so we need to have the right stock levels there. Once this has been done, we then do a full price list for the customers as we have found that some of our competitors do not blanket discount, or sometimes inflate the trade prices as they have won the account on large terms." PW "Right Andy, now so far we have looked closely at the body shops and, at your staff, but coming a lot closer to home, I'm sure you do much more than "conduct the orchestra." Knowing you to be very much of a "hands on" person, I'm guessing that your role is fairly evenly split between finding new business and keeping "all the plates up in the air" with regard to normal day to day running. Can you tell us more"? AL "As the Sales Director I certainly lead from the front and regularly visit bodyshops whether they are existing customers or prospective ones. I think it's just as important to back sell, to our customers, as it's very easy to be remembered for the bad things, and not all the great things we do. I manage to attend many of the quarterly reviews we hold, on site, with our customers and this process is carried out at that time. My team are very self sufficient, looking after their own areas, and their own customer base. So I am there as a supporting role. However, as some of my time is spent with internal staff the key is to have the right staff in the right roles (not square pegs in round holes)" PW "You know, one of the fascinating things about holding the Commentary Box interviews is finding out just how involved the topics handled by my guests are. It's a bit like peeling an onion, layer by layer the subject gets more exposed and I find out so much more as we go along. However, as we run out of time, there are two questions that I really want to ask on the consumables front. Do you offer a complete Rigby Taylor product range, excepting Lechler paint or course, or do you supply other leading brands of product. An secondly, when it comes to customer support, do you have technical people who can be called upon in the unlikely event that a bodyshop experiences any technical problems?" AL "In fairness, I think we skirted these two points a little earlier but, to recap, Rigby Taylor Paints sell two main automotive paint brands; Glasurit and Lechler. Recently we have set up another division of the paints business, called Eurpaint, and we aim to sell the top ten products from all ten brands over the internet. Technical problems are dealt with daily, and my two specialists are always at the end of the phone to help. In a lot of cases, painters just need re assurance on what to do, so we are able to handle this over the phone. At present we are setting up training plans for the bodyshops so we can be pro-active and not re- active which is helping the business all round." PW "Andy, that sounds interesting and I look forward to inviting you back to tell us more about that one later on. Meanwhile, once again many thanks for coming along and for giving us so much useful information. Sadly we have run out of time but, as I'm sure many readers will want to find out more about Rigby Taylor so I'm finishing off by setting out all your contact details below." Andy
Lovett Main Office: 01204 677777 Mobile:
07771 698 145
Peter Warrilow |
||||||||
