Great Service Key to Long Term Supplier Relationship

At the bustling Lyttelton Port Company (LPC), Site Manager, Martin Ferriss needs things to work smoothly. It’s one of the reasons he uses Leedsafe.

Martin has around 60 staff who need uniforms twice a year. And it’s not just a standard set of items for each staff member.

“We give them a little bit of choice” he explains, “they might have three different styles of shirt they can choose from or in summer there are different types of shorts, so it’s all quite individual”.

But the business of getting the right uniform to the right person is not something Martin has to worry about.

Leedsafe’s Smart Pack as Leedsafe take care of all those details as part of their SMART PACK service. So LPC staff members each complete an individual form itemising what they want, in what styles and sizes. Leedsafe processes all those individual forms and sends out the completed order made up of individually named packs for each staff member containing the exact items they needed. “It turns up ready with the names on them and we just hand the packs out” says Martin.

As well as the uniforms for staff, other members of Martin’s team also regularly order personal protection equipment such as goggles, gumboots and ear muffs for jobs like washing out shipping containers.

LPC have been working with Leedsafe as their main supplier for several years. Previously they had used two or three different suppliers for uniforms and personal protective equipment (PPE) but they wanted to make things more efficient. They had already been using Leedsafe for some items and they also knew that the team in the container terminal were using them and were very happy with the range, price and service. Based on that Martin and his team decided to switch to Leedsafe as their sole supplier.

“We’ve found that prices don’t actually vary that much between suppliers” says Martin, “But Leedsafe are always friendly and willing to help, if they don’t have something in stock they call up and let me know they always follow up if there’s a problem. If I pop into the shop to pick something up they’re always happy and smiling. It just works through all the levels”.