In a recession it is very tempting to try and find new things to do. A lot of us, particularly marketers, are off on a quest for a ‘magic bullet’ - the new product or service that will render the business recession proof.
Here at Ark-H we feel the answer is not to find new things to do, but simply to find innovative and better ways of doing the core things that need to be done.
Despite the early indications of an unusually warm summer the economic climate is still chilly. We know that all our clients, especially the retailers, are having to review, revise and, in some cases, pare down their plans for 2009 and even into 2010. Our focus is to help our clients to extend value and maintain service at the same time as driving down costs wherever possible.
Ark-H was born in a recession (the company was founded in the dark days of 1990) and the ‘steel’ of our services has been tempered in previous tough times - so we know that this particular Ark can weather the storm and we can help our clients to sail through as well.
To that end we have been doing a fair bit of reviewing ourselves - in all areas, from space to time.
We know that delivery costs are the biggest part of the budget for most of our clients. So we began the year by working through a long and painful despatch Invitation to Tender - designed to benchmark all our carriers and ensure that we are offering our clients the best delivery service available at each of the various price points.
We are very optimistic about some of the new services and costs we are hoping to launch this season - and we aren’t finished yet. So keep an eye on our despatch prices because we are really planning to deliver value in that area.
Then there’s the systems side. We know that our clients want the best that technology can offer them and that they expect our systems to be aligned to their needs. However we also understand that they are concerned about having to commit to high set-up costs and expensive ecommerce licences at times when funds are in short supply. So we are putting the finishing touches to some less expensive options specifically designed to provide a ‘value’ range of options for those who want the benefits of our best in class ecommerce systems without a high up-front cost.
Even the operations team are ‘pitching in’ on these cost-saving and efficiency initiatives. Our new building, now fully operational, has given us considerable scope for production efficiencies and better space utilisation - all of which has enabled us to hold, and in some cases even reduce, our production and storage prices.
Then there are the less obvious issues, such as our quality and environmental standards. The trend towards ‘going green’ was often seen as slightly costly in the past - with many of our clients and suppliers equating care for the environment with damage to the budget. Our ISO teams and the production staff have been working really hard to find production and packaging solutions that are both environmentally friendly and cost-conscious. We have invested heavily in equipment for recycling and now we are able to offer green options without any premium at all on the cost.
The other major area of investment for Ark-H has always been its staff - particularly training. With the two founder directors coming from a training background there is no need to sell in the idea that training budgets should never be a casualty of economic pressure. Indeed, here at Ark-H we believe, and live by, the argument that tough times require more focus on staff training not less. So we have been carrying out a fair bit of training already this year, across all areas of the company and it is this that has helped us to identify some of the savings areas we are already passing back to our clients.
And, to top it off, we are about to re-introduce the seminar sessions (the ones some of you may remember from back in the 90s). We know you need us to work with you to help you drive down costs, so we are going to offer you the chance to get even better value from the services we offer. To find out more phone the sales team (Julia, Daisy and Sarah) who will be happy to send you more information about our “Better Handling = Better Response” seminars running next year.