This episode features Andrew Steel from Charles Bentley, a 160-year-old manufacturing business that rapidly adapted its B2B and B2C operations during the pandemic. Facing unprecedented online growth and shifts in wholesale, Charles Bentley successfully reallocated resources, ramped up warehouse staff, and optimized its supply chain to meet new demands. This is a must-listen for ecommerce businesses navigating rapid market changes and supply chain disruptions.
Key takeaways
Diversify sales channels: Operating across wholesale, B2B drop shipping, and a D2C ecommerce store provided resilience during market shifts, allowing the business to pivot when one channel declined.
Reallocate staff strategically: When store sales plummeted, Charles Bentley redeployed sales staff to customer service and rapidly hired 20 new warehouse employees to manage a triple-digit surge in online orders.
Proactive supply chain management: Leverage global connections to anticipate disruptions, and quickly re-order popular products to avoid stockouts during demand surges, especially for seasonal items.
Embrace marketplace testing: Utilize platforms like eBay and Amazon to test new products and get early insights into market demand before committing to full-scale D2C launches.
Accelerate digital transformation: The pandemic forced Charles Bentley to hit its five-year e-commerce projections in months; businesses should be prepared to scale online operations rapidly in response to market changes.
Andrew Steel is the eCommerce Director at Charles Bentley, founded 160 years ago as manufacturer of chimney sweeping brushes, they now balance selling brushes and cleaning products via wholesale and dropshipping to some of the UK’s largest retailers AND running their own home and garden eCommerce store. Employing over 150 people, and manufacturing over 2m brushes a year has made dealing with the challenges of the pandemic particularly interesting!Get all the links and resources we mention at eCommerceMasterPlan.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/ ---
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What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Diversify sales channels: Operating across wholesale, B2B drop shipping, and a D2C ecommerce store provided resilience during market shifts, allowing the business to pivot when one channel declined.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Reallocate staff strategically: When store sales plummeted, Charles Bentley redeployed sales staff to customer service and rapidly hired 20 new warehouse employees to manage a triple-digit surge in online orders.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Proactive supply chain management: Leverage global connections to anticipate disruptions, and quickly re-order popular products to avoid stockouts during demand surges, especially for seasonal items.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Embrace marketplace testing: Utilize platforms like eBay and Amazon to test new products and get early insights into market demand before committing to full-scale D2C launches.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Accelerate digital transformation: The pandemic forced Charles Bentley to hit its five-year e-commerce projections in months; businesses should be prepared to scale online operations rapidly in response to market changes.
