Page 21 - HW August 2020

hard talking
A one-size- ts-all approach won’t t every scenario, in other words, and that’s a theme that Bruce McEwen returns to again and again.
MOVING FROM
ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL
On top of the rationalisation of its real estate, PlaceMakers’ digital presence is also due for change.
Soon Snappy.co.nz and Shop. placemakers.co.nz will both disappear, in favour of a single live e-commerce platform for both DIYers and the trade under the URL PlaceMakers.co.nz.
e foundations towards digitising PlaceMakers’ processes and ultimately improving the brand’s digital interactions with customers started being laid two years ago with Zebra handhelds appearing around the yards followed last year by the insourcing of freight and delivery.
And now, PlaceMakers.co.nz, complete with personalised live reporting and pricing, live stock on hand and customers’ order tracking is “coming at pace because we’ve spent the time creating the building blocks, because we’ve built the foundations rst. It means that now we can really go a lot harder on digital.”
Armed with “a mandate to get us from what is an analogue business to a digital business” is Ritesh Patel, General Manager of Digital & Transformation.
With the PlaceMakers Trade App already live, next comes a Trade Portal, which will have been made live as I write this, as part of an unusually fast paced roll-out.
e next step is making the new Placemakers.co.nz live. Merging customer needs under a single banner, you’ll see live
you don’t have to be in a location to do business in that location – there’s a lot you can do remotely, and sometimes more e ectively as well.
“We’re a people business so we’ve got to be with people to interact and to connect – but you don’t have to be there to do business: the customer is concerned about making sure they get what they need on time and in full, but less so about where it came from.”
As the recent surge in online spending shows clearly, the pandemic-driven lockdown has
“Creating a hub is not about taking out heads... It’s about creating efficiency for the customer through greater customer intimacy and the combined strength of the hub”
driven many to rely on transacting digitally. Ironically, back at work on-site, they may still have to visit a DIY drive-through to pick up a box of nails!
“How can that be right when I can order a pizza online, I can see when
pricing, live tracking by location and customer-speci c pricing with only specials unavailable online.
“We’ve got to get to the point where we’re a 7 by 24 business. But right now, as an industry we’re a bit analogue – we’re changing fast but a lot more change will be required,” admits Bruce McEwen
“I think we all knew innately and Covid has reinforced that
it’s going to arrive and even see it coming out the oven – why can’t I do that at work? And so we’re an industry that absolutely needs to move...”
As a result, PlaceMakers will indeed be “moving” in the next couple of months, taking what Bruce McEwen admits is just a rst step, even if it is a mighty big one...
“We’re going to move to what I call rst base, where we’re
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AUGUST 2020 | NZHJ 19