fastening & assembly solutions and technology - Approved Business

FAST OCTOBER 2011
FASTPROFILE
Customer focus is the key
The new managing director of Moss Express is a man on a mission and has big ambitions for the
company that is already the UK’s largest manufacturer and distributor of small industrial
components. Paul Gay assesses the company’s plans
Last year Moss Express achieved
record sales levels for the sort of
products that most people wouldn’t
notice but that are essential to a huge
range of industries worldwide. From
plastic caps and plugs used for protection
during storage and transportation, hose
and cable guards, to high temperature
masking products, Moss has carved itself
a niche in the components market.
Finishing and protection products are just
a small part of the product range.
But that’s not good enough for Scott
Fawcett, the recently appointed managing
director at Moss Express. “Moss is on
a journey from being a UK based plastic
parts manufacturer to becoming a global
distribution company. We’re already very
successful but the opportunities for product
and sales expansion are endless,” said
Fawcett, who is 39 years old and learned
his trade at Electrocomponents, the
world’s largest distributor of electronics
and maintenance products.
In 2010, the Moss Express manufactured
over a billion plastic parts and it
produces around 3.2 million products a
day, all of them available for next day
delivery to customers with a typical average
transaction value of around £200.
The company’s headquarters in
Kidlington, Oxfordshire, is home to the
Scott Fawcett: “People really make a difference,
providing the balance between personal service
and interactive, web-based marketing.”
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Up to 3.2 million items are produced each day
manufacturing operation and also houses
the hub warehouse for manufactured
goods. “Warehouse storage has just been
extended by over 700 cubic metres to
increase storage capacity for further new
product ranges,” said Fawcett. “There
has also been considerable investment in
tooling to increase the number of products
made from a single press and to
reduce waste.”
Kidlington is the business’ hub
although predicted growth in production
capacity by 2015 will require a hub in
Germany. There are currently seven
warehouses in the UK and others in
Germany, Poland, France and Spain and
also a depot in China. And the company
is always looking for acquisitions to
expand its range with complementary
products.
The company re-branded its European
businesses to Moss Express to reflect its
customer proposition as a one stop shop
with next day delivery offered on all
parts. To maintain the high levels of service
required slow movers are air freight
from hubs if necessary.
Fawcett’s ambition is to double sales
by 2020 and more than double the current
number of product lines. At the centre of
his strategy is improving service and customer
retention by ensuring the business
has a total focus on its customers. This
involves developing the e-commerce
strategy as a greater part of the sales
and marketing mix and improving the
supply chain.
“We pride ourselves on our telephone
service,” said Fawcett, claiming that all
the necessary ordering information can
be supplied by telephone. “People really
make a difference, providing the balance
between personal service and interactive,
web-based marketing.”
At the last count, Moss Express had
101 trained telephone operatives who are
from all over the World but all schooled
at Kidlington. Telephone sales teams
work with product champions in each
office and are therefore constantly updating
their product knowledge. This knowledge
is then shared with other offices
over the company’s intranet. All graduate
engineers recruited by the company
spend up to 12 months in customer service
before moving into other departments.
But Fawcett is changing the company’s
image. “Express needs more online
input,” he declared.
The company has tens of thousands of
customers, who are spread over a wide
range of industrial sectors including furniture,
hydraulics and pipe fitting. The
motor manufacturers are also important
customers although the business is shifting
from high volumes to the small and
mid-volumes of the heavy vehicle sector.
“A good breadth of customers evens out
economic peaks,” suggested Fawcett.
A global survey suggests that 60% of
Moss Express’ customers use electronic
search to find their products. “Customers
will soon experience a much improved
website from Moss with better online
search capability and much clearer product
classification and pricing,” Fawcett
claimed.
The website will work alongside the
traditional catalogue which was published
in September with 2,000 new
products and is also be available online to