‘Hospitality has enough red tape to navigate. Extending supply of the exceptional products and services, to the complete industry, feels timely. Whether a customer is wanting 10,000 items or 1. Whether they want to come to us directly or be supported through an online platform – it was the right thing to do!
Emma Stewart, Managing Director, TecFlo
I have done 40 orbits around the sun, spent 20 years in executive roles, 11 years as a Mummy, 10 as a wife, 3 as a Managing Director and as I write this… 6 weeks with an online shop.
Despite this I recently spoke at the Lancashire Ecommerce Summit, and it is safe to say that in a room of ecommerce experts I was the apprentice. I was asked to speak at the event, in order to share the history of TecFlo, our decision to open an online shop and thoughts on my intention and process.
Founded some 37 years ago, by my Father, TecFlo has been at the table with some of the world’s most powerful brewing brands. Despite 4 decades, 20 million products and 43 countries – zero has been spent on marketing and zero sold online. When I share this the first question I am asked, is ‘how?’
There is no simple or quick answer to this. Instead there’s likely a list of thousands of relevant points, mixed together and sprinkled with a bit of blood, sweat and luck. There are a few consistent things that have helped, and I shared these.
Tooling – TecFlo’s decision to own the tools has been pivotal. I don’t mean small tools – I mean the big ones that support high volume injection moulding. We neither rent nor borrow time and therefore control production and alterations. Owning tools has allowed us the freedom to drive improvements and implement action quickly.
Stock – As a supplier we are often at the bottom of the communication tree and yet we place significant value to being responsive to change. I shared a ‘post covid’ story where a major brand, not supplied through TecFlo typically, called stating they ‘had a hole in their supply of a particular product’. When we asked how big that hole was, we received response that it was a ‘7000 pieces’ hole. We delivered them the next day! Stock enables us to be responsive to the changing needs of the customers that we serve.
Quality – I repeat (a LOT) that we test everything 100% . A simple sentence but one difficult to quantify. TecFlo’s steadfast commitment to testing has undoubtedly kept the business sat at the table with the brands I have mentioned. Confidence in our products built slowly, across years as a result of 100% testing 100% of the time.
So what of the shop ?
We are now in June 2023. It is a Saturday morning. My Father and I decide to catch up over a brew whilst walking the dogs down his drive. We casually talk about the business and a few things in the pipeline and I share my intention to rework the website and open an online shop. I offered 3 core considerations. We would sell with NO minimum order quantities and offer free next day delivery.
Between that conversation and February 5th 2024 when we quietly went live ‘online’ some of the deep rooted behaviours that have supported TecFlo, fed this project. I share these:
- Relax and Enjoy it – We use ‘relax’ in the same approach to a runner relaxing into the pace of a marathon. Relax isn’t about it being easy, relaxing is about being patient. It was fully understood that this was not going to happen overnight. I shared the story of the development of our range of Fittings where we talk in terms of the ‘next 10 years’. In a world where instant results, instant change, instant ‘connection’ seems to have taken hold … a gentle reminder and nod to ‘relaxing into the pace needed for the full journey’ has been important to us.
- Do it well – we say this a lot. If we are going to do it ‘do it well’. It mattered in the online project. I have never been gifted with a perfect plan, in fact I would argue that a ‘perfect plan’ is riding around on a unicorn. Instead, I would suggest there are only ‘good enough to start’ plans. Taking a good enough plan from good enough to ‘better’ is what is relevant. This involved talking to existing customers, resellers and the businesses helping us build and develop the site.
- Go all in – I love this one most. I am reminded of the Olympic British Rowing Team and the inspirational message of ‘do it only if it makes the boat go faster’. A commitment which would bring home the Gold medal. We use this analogy often. Going ‘all in’ is the absolute commitment to give the process everything. It is undoubtedly easier to go ‘all in’ for short periods of time and then lose interest – but TecFlo has demonstrated long term success by going ‘all in’ for decades.
These 3 principles saw us through the development of the site and the launch of TecFlo’s first online shop. 6 weeks later I most certainly remain an apprentice in a world with a whole different language. From our strategic global partnerships to the sole traders, our eshop has been an organic development extending the compliment of our equipment to everyone.
Whether that is 100,000 pieces or 1! With free next day delivery, we aim to offer the same support to ALL participants in the sector.
For more information on TecFlo’s online shop please visit www.tec-flo.co.uk and register for an account.
