Leading golf distribution company Worldwide Golf Brands has moved to a new 120,000 sq ft office, showroom and warehouse facility just outside of Manchester in order to better manage its expanding brand portfolio.
“This is the next step in the development of the business and I couldn’t be more excited by the opportunities in front of us,” commented Graeme Stevens, Managing Director of Worldwide Golf Brands. “This move gives us the perfect platform to build on the growth we’ve achieved over recent years while keeping close control over all of the key processes from design, and sales through to distribution.”
The new facility, which the company moved into on June 1, includes space for all of WWGB’s office-based staff and a luxury showroom designed to showcase WWGB’s key brands, BIG MAX, MacGregor, Oscar Jacobson, Stuburt and ZOOM. The showroom will feature a dedicated area for each brand, set out in a shop floor style that highlights the full range, POS and merchandising opportunities. The showroom will provide a physical space for customers to see every brand in the WWGB range and also give the sales team the opportunity to invite key customers to review entire lines of product in person.
In addition to the move, WWGB is investing over £1 million in the infrastructure of the business, including the implementation of a state of the art SAP inventory management system. Designed to streamline all processes from ordering through to delivery, the new system will be at the heart of efficiencies that Graeme sees as vital to delivering the best possible service to customers.
“The SAP inventory management system will make our whole service responsive to the needs of our customers,” said Stevens. “It offers full management of complex multi-brand supply chain logistics, monitoring both our inbound and outbound stock levels and applying quality control measures all along the process. For our customers, this means they will be able to access a live stock system, place an order and get it delivered from the same building in as short a time as is possible.
“Perhaps most importantly as we all deal with the difficult worldwide supply issues that are effecting the whole industry, it gives customers a transparent view of our processes so they can make informed choices about their orders. This whole move and the new systems are all about delivering the most efficient system to get our customers the products they need. We’re aiming to have the best process in the industry so that customers want to order from us again and again.”
The new inventory management system will be brought online in stages over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition, but the aim is to have a fully responsive system open for customers to use by January 1, 2022. During that period, WWGB will also take on full responsibility for the UK. & Ireland distribution of BIG MAX and ZOOM along with the addition of 20 new staff to manage the expansion of the business.
“When we took the decision to step up operations, including taking on two of Europe’s most successful brands in BIG MAX and ZOOM and expanding the reach of our other key brands, it was important that we had the facility and processes in place to manage the extra work,” concludes Graeme. “It will be a lot of hard work to get to where we need to be, but this is the perfect venue for us to be able to control all of our key processes and to grow the business in a sustainable manner. We’ve laid the foundations for the next stages of growth for the business and I can’t wait to pass on the benefits of the new venue and systems to our customers.”
For further information, call 0161 886 4010.