What I've learned about my business during lockdown

Over the last three weeks I have picked, packed, loaded and unloaded in the warehouse and this not only humbles you, but it also grounds you to fully understand what you have.

So, what do we have?

Not only do we have vast stocks that we can fall back on, but we have the great team whose work has meant we are in a position to have stock ready and awaiting a 4.00pm order.

Hindsight has told me that if we hadn’t recruited additional staff towards the end of last year to generate and drive future growth plans, we might have been in a very different position than we are today.

I must stress this was more fortuitus than calculated as who knew that COVID 19 was going to hit us so hard.

Recent events have meant our stock has been needed for a very different purpose.

We advertise that we have stock ready and waiting - you can ring up and we’ll have the piece of equipment packaged up and ready to be out of the door at 7.30am the next morning. And this hasn’t changed, albeit the phone calls have!

The stock levels that we maintain have been invaluable to service our old and new customer base in assisting with essential works and front-line services.

We’ve been involved in supplying gas distributors providing emergency gases to hospitals, NHS and ambulance services. We’ve provided transportation attachments for the food chain industry, tipping skips and bespoke stillages to power stations, and fork extensions for chemical distribution companies – the list really does go on!

There are few positives during these unprecedented and uncertain times. But one positive I have taken is pride in this business and its employees. They’ve brought us to a position where we are able to help ensure so many essential services and processes can continue.

Events like these shape a business. Who knows what the future holds and how this will impact the future of our industry and the businesses that operate within it, but I’m certainly proud of what we have become.

It’s times like these that you learn a lot about yourself, your business and those you work with every day. So, going back to the question I asked earlier, what do we have? Well, we have a lot of attachments. But we also have pride, determination, belief – and a hell of a lot of character!

I am sure that you have learned a lot about your business too, share those thoughts in the comments below - let’s unite and grow stronger together!