We interview Craig Varey, Managing Director at Banner, as he takes a look back on 2018 and into 2019
"I'm pleased to say 2018 was a success for Banner as we continued to invest and develop the business to add value to our customers. This was substantiated by the achievement of strong business growth and more customers entrusted Banner to support their business supplies and needs during the last 12 months.
We moved more towards partnership-based relationships with our customers, gaining insights and a deeper understanding of their evolving needs and requirements along the way. Our customer partnerships have informed many of the investments and developments that were made during 2018 and have enabled us to set strong foundations for the future.
Here are a few examples:
Commitment to CSR
Cementing our CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy was and will continue to be a major focus for us. We operate across four key pillars, which cover; Our Natural Environment, Our Supply Chain, Our Communities and Our People. You will hear more about our CSR strategy during 2019 as we expand on the investments and commitments that we have already been making for several years now.
Our most recent activity has been to further drive down the use of plastics within our organisation. To this end, we have rolled out a more environmentally friendly delivery service through the option to replace single use plastic packaging with recycled shredded cardboard filler.
Business Expertise
We expanded our category expertise further in technology, furniture, MPS, print and cleaning & hygiene. This was in direct response to increased demand and ensured we remained a trusted business supplies provider. In fact, more and more customers recognised the benefits of consolidating their supply chain and placed orders across numerous product categories in our range.
Significantly, we've built on our existing supplier relationships and welcomed many new suppliers into the Banner family. This ensures we're sourcing the right product at the right price from a range of carefully selected suppliers which are based in the UK, Europe and globally. I believe this is a key reason why our customers trust us to add value and deliver the service they deserve and expect.
Technology and Innovation
Implementing a state of the art transport management system has allowed us to streamline our delivery service and minimise our CO2 emissions, via the use of fuel efficient routes.
Improving our new ecommerce platform has proved to be very popular with our customers as it offers enhanced search functionality, reporting of accurate stock levels and greater access to account information. Thus, providing our customers with an easier and more efficient online shopping experience.
Looking Forward
Since taking on the position as Managing Director at Banner I've listened to the people that matter; our customers, Banner employees and our suppliers. These key relationships will continue to inform the investment and development through 2019 and will enable Banner to remain the responsible business supplies provider that it is today.
The key to our overall success is rooted in having an open, transparent and trustworthy relationship, so that we are a partner who listens and continues to improve. That's a challenge that we relish, and we will continually strive for further progression as we move through 2019.
As a final note, the team and I would like to thank our existing customers for their continued support throughout 2018 and we look forward to building on those partnerships and beginning new ones"
B Procurement
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