Imex Ceramics is a leading global manufacturer of bathroom products, having built a reputation for quality, reliability and service. Working under the mission statement of "turning bathrooms into personal living spaces”, Imex is dedicated to designing excellent solutions through the quality and creativity of its products.
This quality promise has always been underpinned by a focus on providing excellent customer service, so it needed the right distribution partner to support this goal and help maintain strong relationships with its customers. After switching to Pall-Ex for its distribution, Imex saw that delays, damages and costs had all decreased, resulting in a better, more efficient service.
About IMEX Ceramics
Founded in 1994, Imex Ceramics recently celebrated its 30th year in business, building a reputation as a quality supplier of bathroom and sanitaryware products during this time. Aiming to produce the highest quality products and deliver excellent customer service, Imex creates custom design solutions to fit around each and every lifestyle.
Imex also supplies its products to bathroom and plumbing merchants across the UK, relying on a strong distribution partner to meet its promise of excellent customer service. Prior to working with Pall-Ex, it was experiencing difficulties with delays and damages, which were threatening its next-day delivery targets. However, after being approached by Pall-Ex, Imex saw an opportunity to solve these issues with Pall-Ex offering lower costs, higher service levels and greater flexibility.
Challenges and Objectives
Strong customer relations are key to any business’ success, and for manufacturers, having a reliable and robust distribution partner contributes hugely to the stability of these relationships.
“We pride ourselves on our customer service, with a commitment to next-day deliveries. We were suffering a significant number of damages and delays with our previous provider, which was becoming untenable,” commented Jonathan Munnery, Head of Operations at Imex Ceramics.
Rectifying these issues as soon as possible was vital to ensuring Imex could maintain the strong relationships it had built with its customers. It was then that Imex set out to find a solution, focusing on finding a distribution partner that was flexible while maintaining excellent service levels.
How Pall-Ex helped
After being approached by a Pall-Ex representative while looking for an alternative provider, Imex was drawn in by the difference in what it was offering compared to the previous provider.
“Undoubtedly, the major factor I noticed was cost. Not only are the pallet costs through Pall-Ex cheaper than any other provider in the area, but we also get additional savings on multiple pallets in the same consignments and reduced costs for smaller sized pallets,” Jonathan commented.
By offering the widest variety of pallet dimensions in the palletised freight distribution industry, Pall-Ex enables Imex Ceramics to choose the most appropriate pallet size for its goods. This results in a more cost-effective distribution service, avoiding the need to pay for unused space.
After switching over to Pall-Ex, Imex noticed that delays and damages significantly decreased, while experiencing a vast improvement in the overall service provided.
“Pall-Ex achieves our next-day delivery target on over 98% of our consignments, and where there are any delays, Pall-Ex’s customer service team updates us in a timely manner,” added Jonathan. “This enables us to communicate effectively with our customers about the delays and maintain strong relationships with them.”
Pall-Ex’s freight tracking software, Nexus, further supports Imex to maintain strong relationships with its customers. With a dedicated customer portal, Nexus provides enhanced freight visibility and generates a two-hour delivery window for all consignments which can be seen by Imex, its customers and the support team at Pall-Ex, aiding a seamless, efficient and reliable delivery process.
The flexibility of the service was another bonus, with Jonathan commenting: “On the days when we encounter increased volumes, organising an additional collection lorry is easy and guaranteed due to the fact the hub is less than a mile away.”
Being in such close proximity means Pall-Ex is able to send a collection vehicle to Imex the very same day and immediately input its freight into the network. With the ability to effortlessly adapt to any additional freight, Pall-Ex can distribute its products as quickly as possible and help Imex maintain its commitment to next-day deliveries.
All deliveries are underpinned by Pall-Ex’s freight tracking software, Nexus, which provides enhanced visibility on all consignments and two-hour delivery windows, bringing added benefits to Imex and its customers alike by reducing the number of missed deliveries and aiding a smooth delivery process.
Results
Overall, Imex witnessed a significant improvement in the strength of its distribution service after switching to Pall-Ex, achieving next-day delivery on over 98% of its consignments.
“We have seen an improved delivery service since moving over to Pall-Ex and damages have definitely decreased. Our account manager contacts us regularly where we can discuss any issues or new services and the customer service team is excellent, always going the extra mile to support us,” concluded Jonathan.
In the 18 months since moving over to Pall-Ex, Imex has experienced a much stronger and more reliable service, underpinned by excellent communication, a helpful customer service team, and significant cost savings.
Samantha Moiroux-White, Corporate Customer Service Manager at Pall-Ex, commented: “We have worked closely in partnership with Imex over the last 18 months to ensure the service we deliver not only meets but exceeds their requirements. We are delighted that Imex continues to trust us with its distribution and look forward to seeing our partnership continue to prosper.”