NEW NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CHAIN LAUNCHED

Grove Group and Fleet Factors have joined forces to create a national distribution network committed to serving the vehicle repair sector with an industry-leading service in the supply of refinish materials and consumables. Called Amicus it has been designed to bring together innovative and creative supply solutions via multiple organisations to form a single distribution network.

Grove, whose heritage dates back to 1917, and Fleet Factors, which has a distribution hub in almost every major town and city in the country, are using their close partnerships, expertise and knowledge to deliver an industry leading service. The new network called Amicus will be underpinned by unrivalled digital technology bringing increased efficiency and improved administration savings that will help drive down bodyshop operating costs.

Paul Newman, Grove’s Sales Director described the formation of Amicus as the biggest and most important move in his company’s history. “Amicus is not another distribution group giving the same old platitudes,” said Paul. “Our aim is to provide a simplified structure, working together as distributors, suppliers and customers in all areas of the supply chain.

We are introducing world class digital solutions that will help all stakeholders reduce costs and increase efficiency.”

The idea for Amicus was a ‘light bulb’ moment for Paul during the first long lockdown. “Last year was the worst thing that has ever happened in business / distribution,” said Paul. “I have had Grove since 1992 and the distribution model hasn’t really changed. I decided to look at other markets and had a blue sky moment one day when I wondered whether I could create an Amazon type service for our industry.

“Quite frankly with the frailty of business with Covid if a main supply partner failed then we could be

extremely vulnerable, so I thought what if we were to completely overhaul it and bring everything in-house? We already utilised an online ordering product, which we liked but it was still heavily repairer reliant, so we thought how could we digitise the supply chain to make things easier for customers to trade and for us to deal with their requirements?

“We developed a product named Integrum (roughly translated from Latin it means a memory trace) which is a fully automated management system for not just what we supply but what the bodyshop uses. For example, the second someone uses a product in the bodyshop, we know because we capture the movement on barcodes. It immediately informs us and all the other suppliers of that product being utilised and then on pre-determined days of the week agreed with the customer, those products are put back into the levels that are at that point in time required by the bodyshop.”

The entire transaction is automatically loaded onto the customer’s profile. Integrum cuts out invoicing and statements and saves a significant amount of time. The system also features a unique ‘health check’ feature that monitors critical data in order to increase efficiency, productivity and profitability per repair.

“Logistics costs are reduced and the efficiencies in the bodyshop are massive because the partsman doesn’t have to worry about anything,” said Paul. “People know that you always have the stock on site and they are not overstocking or understocking

products. You can have Integrum on any hand held device, PDA or desktop and 365 days a year you have access to ordering paint, consumables and other supplies giving real time stock valuations.”

Fix Auto UK has become the first repair network to forge a close working partnership with Amicus. “Grove has been a major partner and supporter of ours since day one,” said Ian Pugh, Managing Director, Fix Auto UK. “I am always searching for a service or product that will bring immediate benefits to our business and specifically our franchise partners. Amicus, through its Integrum digital platform, I believe, will do just that and much more."

Joe Hunter, Managing Director, Fleet Factors added, “Working Together with similar, highly driven organisations, increases our strength and collective ability. We are all about improving efficiency, productivity and profitability per repair along with delivering industry leading customer service.”