Wilko

In their own words

Can you give a brief description of your company?

Quality products that solve our customers’ needs, stores, and a website that people love to shop and a business that believes in treating people with fairness and respect – this is how we do things at Wilko.

How did you first hear about our service?

I was set a project to find a suitable fulfilment provider that we could use as we are venturing into selling products on Amazon using Seller Fulfilled Prime programme for the first time. As I was searching for a provider hardly any 3PL operators are doing this due to the strict rules imposed by Amazon for this service. It appeared others wanted to steer clear of this due to fear of not obtaining the high standards required to be approved to facilitate SFP.

Which challenges necessitated change?

Wilko decided to venture selling products on Amazon Prime initially as a trial to see how it goes. There wasn’t many 3PLs that were approved to do these services, but MCF had been doing it for some time with a few of their other customers. 

MCF informed me they are already set up to ensure large amounts of orders are dispatched daily under the SFP platform. This gave me great confidence knowing they were an operator who has this experience and are maintaining the SFP status for Amazon.

What trends in your industry drove the need to use our solutions?

Amazon are the biggest selling platform in the world, it made sense to sell items on a site as it reaches to such a wide audience. We are hoping that partnering with MCF to fulfil our SFP orders we can grow our sales by 25%.  We had to choose an Amazon approved provider to do this for us which was not easy as many never offered the SFP service. After visiting MCF I knew immediately they would be the perfect partnership to accomplish this project.

What were you looking for in a solution?

To find an approved Amazon fulfilment centre that delivers the SFP KPIs with consistency, but this was a challenge.  Not many 3PLs offer this service as the struggle to hit the KPIs set out by Amazon consistently.

After visiting MCF I knew immediately they would be the perfect partnership to accomplish this project.

What made our solution stand out over others that you researched?

I attended MCF’s warehouse to see the facilities before reaching a decision. During the visit I was impressed by the knowledge of business owners and their team members.

I was equally impressed with the slick processes they have adopted to ensure orders go out on time.  The warehouse was a safe, clean and tidy environment which was pleasing to see. 

How did our team help implementation?

MCF played an integral part with assisting with setting up the Amazon account, so it was all linking into their Warehouse Management System.  We have regular video call some time twice a day initially to get things going.  This was never an issue for MCF they always found the time to do this which helped immensely at the start of the journey.

What was the initial reaction to using our services?

MCF have been doing this for some time and have managed to do it with great success so I knew this experience will come to fruition once our account was set up with such an expert provider in this field.  

How have our solutions helped since implementation?

We have been so impressed by MCFs passion and determination to find a solution to any barriers opposed upon us since we set the account up. There has been constant communication between Wilko and MCF to ensure things are running smoothly.

I’m unsure I would’ve got such commitment from any other 3PL provider if we had gone elsewhere.

I was equally impressed with the slick processes they have adopted to ensure orders go out on time. 

What impact have our solutions had on the growth of your business?

We envisage our sales to increase by up 25% by selling on Amazon through their SFP programme. This could potentially double once we are shipping out our Xmas product range with MCF,  during the Christmas peak period.

Has this solution saved money and/or increased productivity?

This solution has certainly given us confidence to grow our eCommerce side of the business.  This day in age ecommerce  is just as important as retail and it’s already apparent MCF have the ability to assisting us to deliver the results required in this sector with us.

Can you share any metrics/KPIs that show the success you have enjoyed with our service?

As we all know Amazon SFP KPI’s are very difficult for 3PL’s to achieve and maintain, due to the rules Amazon impose for this type of service. It is important we have someone who can cope with demand whilst servicing the account to the highest standards. 

There really isn’t any room for error or we can lose SFP badge so it’s important we chose the right provider who can maintain such high standards and protecting our Brand image.

What have you been most impressed with?

MCF’s communication skill and passion have shone through since day one, we really feel like they are part of our team due to their proactive approach.  Nothing is ever too much trouble and without their assistance it may have been a lot more difficult to have got SFP up and running, it’s been a pleasure working with them and we hope to build up on this and forge a long lasting partnership in the future.

What plans do you have to use our solution in the future?

We have been so impressed with MCFs model for delivering SFP sales to the end customer that we are keen to send in more products for them to fulfil.

We have complete confidence that MCF will make a positive impact with our ecommerce strategy and allow us to grow this sector of our business.