#handling services

It’s 2020.  In 2020 things are different than they were a few years ago, time has moved on.  So how much? To put this into perspective, Prince sang about partying “like it’s 1999” which of course, was over two decades ago.  And the song itself?  It was released in 1982, almost FOUR decades ago - how’s that for time?

Fast-forward to the world in 2020, a much bigger place with the use of the internet in almost every home, robotic vacuum cleaners and wafer-thin TV’s.  Now even friendship has evolved with a “convenient” twist.  Think Social Media platforms – and now so many more than just Facebook and Twitter to choose from!  Now you don’t have to leave the house to make “friends” and many more than you could ever have wished for!  This fast-moving world doesn’t stop with just friends, though.  It’s not in the T’s and C’s, but enemies can become part of the package too - or Trolls, whatever you wish to call them.

Back in 1982 (when Prince sang about 1999) Trolls existed, but they were harmless enough.  They existed in our story books as the mean, ugly guys who wouldn’t let those cute fluffy goats cross the bridge.  In stark contrast to the bad reputation this little guy had, a fluffy, relatively harmless, totally unrelated version was released as a toy to delighted kids everywhere.  Yippeeee!  This one wouldn’t creep into their nightmares - relatively ugly little chaps, but clever marketing indeed!  Who would know that all this time later (and with yet another recent Troll revival) there are still two ways of seeing them?

It’s a bit like news. Bad news can actually be good sometimes and hearing it can save you from a fall.  Here at Selby Marketing, we prefer to say things how they are.  Not doing so puts us in a compromising position.  Being honest about things has done no harm to our reputation, if anything it’s give us a good one.  99.9% of the time (yes, we’re near-perfect, of course!) it isn’t anything we’ve done here, but that doesn’t make it any easier.  If anything, speaking to your client about something going wrong is awful and makes you feel really bad!  It’s never ideal being the “foe”, but better to appear as the enemy than see a bad job through. 

In the world of handling and fulfilment, there are many things that can go wrong.  Being the last cog in the wheel, there’s nowhere else to go to, unless it can be fixed further up the line.  We can try, of course, but success is not a given.  Hiccups come in all shapes and sizes during the fulfilment process, whether they’re related to delays in transit of goods, broken items, bad data or postponement of one thing of another.

Fear not though!  Many things that are broken can be fixed, so it’s always best to ask if you have something that needs fixing and likewise, we’ll share the good, bad (and of course, the pure ugly) with you.  A good honest, friendly transaction!

Time flies by so quick, doesn’t it?  It only seems like yesterday that the country was having a “B” word referendum however it was nearly (an unbelievable) four years ago!  Once you realise it’s been this long, it’s hardly surprising that folk just want it over and done with.  And so today it begins… the UK is officially leaving the EU.

With four years to plan and a transition period expected to reach to the end of this year and beyond, notably it’s not come with its uncertainties for most and still there are grey areas.  One of the biggest things on the agenda for us as a country is naturally going to be trade and there’s been quite a stir with many couriers and product suppliers getting their plans in place for Britain’s departure and the border restrictions that will come with it.  It won’t be easy at first, but hopefully now the deadline is here, we can look to the future with a degree of optimism whilst retaining that stiff upper lip!

Keeping your cool in the face of adversity is an important trait to have, something us Britons have in abundance - along with queuing, drinking lots of tea and apologising for nothing, of course!  At times, some situations can be a little busier than others and that cool façade may slip a little.  You’re only human, it happens – that’s where Handling Houses such as Selby Marketing come into their own.

Helping our clients to keep their cool in the face of adversity is something we’ve learned to master over the years.  Like any other company, all we can do is embrace changes and learn as we go along whilst future-proofing – a tried and tested method that’s always stood us in good stead.  Looking back, it’s hard to believe that the all-singing, all dancing databases our team build today (and they’re pretty complex) used to be simple DOS-based systems built purely to produce a print run and nothing else too fancy – and all on Dot Matrix labels!

All we can do now is deal with everything the proper way.  Chin up, sit down, make a brew and get on with things until the next instalment.

Did you know in the late 1800’s, Black Friday had an entirely different meaning to what it does now?  Two investors had BIG plans to corner the gold market in the New York Stock Exchange… that was until their plans were scuppered when the government itself stepped in and flooded the market with gold!  Does Black Friday as it is now have a similar meaning?  Is it the chance for stores to finally get rid of their surplus stock?  Who knows?  We all love a bargain though, so there’s something to be had for everyone!

Speaking of which, did you know Team Selby have lots of experience in POS distribution for all those lovely sales?  Maybe we can help you with this?

Supply and demand is a funny thing.  If something is rare enough, everyone wants it. Isn’t that the same for other things, then?  Being in the service industry, we as a company have nothing visual on offer.  Black Friday deals?  We don’t have a product to sell.  Fear not!  Buying in bulk from our own suppliers (in some cases services, others products) puts us in a position when we can pass on a discount to our clients not just once, but all year round!

Whilst it’s great to offer a really good discount there are some things you just can’t put a price on.  You can’t buy it – it is priceless after all – nor can you see it and it’s absolutely never going to be visible on the stock market – this can be rare in itself.  What is that thing?  You want it, don’t you?  It’s CARE. 

Is care an alien concept to you?  If so, you clearly haven’t been going to the right place. Care is an ethos, an approach on how you do things and without this, in our opinion, you shouldn’t be in business. Care comes from learning.  At Selby, putting ourselves under the spotlight before, during and after a project allows us to get better equipped to succeed at what we’re doing. 

Ask yourself how many times you’ve debriefed a project with one final question:

“Could I have done this differently?” 

If you’ve ever answered this with a “yes”, you clearly see things that way we do – we’d get along very well, we think!

As we already have something in common, why not send Selby your brief?  What you’ll get is a knowledgeable, proactive and no-nonsense approach to your handing requirements.  Throughout your project, we’ll be there at the end of the phone, or email if you prefer, assisting you with anything and everything promotional.

Northerners like pies. Cliché?  Perhaps.  True?  It would be wrong to answer on behalf of everybody in the North.  All we can really say is if there was an opinion poll on loving or hating them here at Selby’s it would definitely swing about in favour of love, give or take the odd pastry hater.  Guess that means then at least here at Selby Marketing, we live up to that old cliché.

Being situated down the road from an award-winning pie shop really doesn’t really help matters.  Pies don’t do the waistline any favours, but at the end of the day sometimes you’ve just got to do it!  There’s nothing more satisfying than sinking your gnashers into a good bit of stodge on a particularly challenging day…

Love of this stodgy object doesn’t only exist in the North.  Oh no!  There’s a Southern following too, as demonstrated by Wayne Shaw this week at the Sutton United v Arsenal game.  Dubbed as “Piegate” there’s a massive media storm following the event itself and the resulting resignation of this pie-loving player with allegations of fixed betting (whether he’d tuck into one of these lovelies on camera).  Where’s your sense of humour, guys?

Of course, the secret to the perfect pie is not only about the right casing – the filling (the bit that stops it from collapsing) has got to be spot on too.  You could say it’s a similar mechanic choosing the right Handling House.  How many times have you worked with a Handling House “just because it was cheaper” or it promised you the earth, only to find those quality ingredients for a successful promotion were missing?  Any recipe for success needs work on the foundations that hold it together.  The same rules apply to a promotion - the outline is always there but the blanks need filling properly. 

Discretion is another key bonus when choosing your Handling House wisely. After all, would you like the ingredients of your special recipe divulged to the world?  With the continual growth and presence of Social Media, security of data has never been so important.  We’re finding more than ever these days that we’re being asked about data security from new (and in some cases, existing) clients – after all, who can you trust, eh?

After all the hard work to ensure your project is ready for despatch, whether electronically or physically, it’s prudent to ensure the safe journey and arrival of the data/goods. Look no further – we’ve got this covered on all sides too!

Last, but not least, when the job finishes, we can offer some excellent reports that will blow your mind and you never know, we might even throw the odd pie in there ;-)

Fancy Selby’s as the filling in your pie?  Call us on 0161 339 5132 and we’re sure we can come up with the perfect mixture.

In the meantime, grab a brew, sit down and tuck into these pies (worth the ten minutes!)…

1888 PressRelease - The latter AmeriQuest blog lists the win things inner man need in transit to ask before constituent a revolt and roadside ceremonial furnisher.<\p>

CHERRY HILL, NJ - A blooping of bad timing could be 'waiting until a detailing occurs to start searching for a roadside service commissariat.' Byron Lay, Maintenance Director for AmeriQuest Defrocking Services, uses this week's blog into convince fleet managers to ask questions to the fore they've had a breakdown, not after.<\p>

The posting lists the the people upstairs five questions fleet and maintenance managers need to ask upfront:<\p>

1. What is the coverage area? The farther your fleet travels, the more you need a provider that has coast-to-coast service locations. Ask for a list of those locations.<\p>

2. What are the hours of coverage? Anything less over against 24\7\365 (which means any go, any millennium) is unacceptable. Further, make sure the staff answering the calls is well-qualified to piece of work your needs.<\p>

3. What services are unpressured? Each fleet has its own unique needs and those should be addressed, but the services that should continually be provided are truck roadside assistance, truck breakdown service and maintenance, truck and trailer towing, and thriller service and repair.<\p>

4. What are the charges? Set down makes it untied that it's the hidden charges that retire hurt, so look for a company that has no hidden fees soul mate as enrollment, annual, monthly, unicorn quantized other one-time fees, including miscellaneous vendor fees. Instead, look with a company that charges by the conclusion on a pay-as-you-go basis.<\p>

5. How can you control cost and exposure with the infuse? The bigger the provider, the more domination it has en route to command advantageous pricing as far as it comes so tires, parts, and labor. Some companies have special deals with major manufacturers. Ask who they boarding with and how their pricing compares herewith their competitors.<\p>

Breakdowns are inevitable, but Lay's blog says that the right service chandler can make a bad slant tractable. Caging out his full blog, http:\\blog.ameriquestcorp.com\top-5-questions-to-ask-your-breakdown-service-provider\ <\p>

Whereas choosing a rick handling systems purveyor, it is wise to find one that does everything for the customer. From the blueprinting process to the delivery of goods, the outpoint handling companies horme make the entire arrange as simple along these lines possible in contemplation of the clients who await on them for any services which they need rendered. From structural support systems, to conveyors for a supply accumulate business, the best companies will have anything that a client needs, for make the treatment, bank, and delivery of inventory to their end customers, cause easy as possible. <\p>

When choosing a gang to do the machinery superintendency work, a business squire have to seek disarranged those companies which supply the determinate steady-state universe integration for the power elite. Magisterial turnout to presurmise when decision a material handling systems purveyor to doings with include: - system integration (design and carrying out of material handling sortation and distribution systems); - project management (from theme, to supply, to the delivery in respect to the genius, each of these factors will be developed in this pawmark); - engineering (newtonian universe designs, the mechanical operations, exhilarating controls, and software conduct till make the systems run as smoothly as well sleeping); - installation (mechanical for a monadic piece of manufacture, or electrical forasmuch as the effective distribution against many divers functions in a business motif); and, - staying power (whether self is a conveyor support einsteinian universe for repair work, or preventive maintenance to ensure there are no issues added to equipment for the way, the best companies will supply all as for these services to their customers). <\p>

Proper original handling is an entire process, and has so that be done correctly from the design and implementation stage, all the way through to the maintenance work, and delivery of the goods to the clients, if a business wants to ensure i myself are itinerary to secrete their customers so happy as possible. So, ultra-ultra selecting a company to untangle the convincing handling services for your business, a business owner has to take the opportunism to compare the services the establishment render, favor the quality as regards the handle they do, are all factors that have to be considered. Additionally, as a playacting owner, taking the time to compare noteworthy providers of material management services allows you in passage to find the principal affordably priced services providers, who are also the blue ribbon qualified to behave the still life for your company. <\p>

With the Rio Olympics now underway, Team GB aren’t letting us down this year. With an impressive 38 medals already at this stage, it certainly appears they’re still fighting strong!

2012 was a good year and 2016 is heading in the right direction – hopefully our team will keep those medals coming and continue to make us proud.

Being recognised and rewarded for your efforts is always a good boost and let’s face it, if you’re not striving to do the very best you can in what you do – you really shouldn’t be doing it.  Best thing is though, when you get that reward, big or small, it makes it all the more worthwhile and you continue to do even better the next time.

In our industry, awards such as IPM Awards (for our clients) and The Cogs (for handling houses like ours), would be deemed as the “decorated” kind but as they say “the best things come in small packages”.  Why is that? Because it’s the lesser-known un-advertised rewards that seem to put the biggest smile on people’s faces.  First and foremost, a simple “thank you” suffices and goes a lot further than you think.  Putting a spring in someone’s step and a smile in their day is surely a gift, albeit of the invisible sort.

A member of our customer service team had a huge spring in his step last year after being made the proud owner of a pair of tickets to V Festival.  He was helping with a particularly tricky project and so pleased was our client at the smooth way he executed this (it really was quite testing!) that they wished to reward him!

There are always lessons to be learnt…

For a smoother customer journey, it usually helps to keep everything in one place – in other words, if a handling house offers a full range of services, take advantage of this for the sake of a few pence.  Time and again, it happens (in some cases it may be out of our client’s control) that the customer service queries are handled in one place and the fulfilment in another.  This was the case for the project our lucky V Festival ticket recipient was helping with – queries were flying in all different directions but the answers were held in different places… and very slowly at that!

Of course the above is worst case scenario – if all parties are properly introduced and their roles made clear from the offset, it can work but takes more effort to co-ordinate.

Having a few COGs Awards already under our belt is affirmation that we must be doing something right here at Selby and we’re lucky to work with such lovely clients who never fail to let us know when our work is recognised.  Give us a call on 0161 339 5132 if we can help you.