Many readers have expressed their shock in the decisions made by Next, Moss Bros, River Island and Schuh to call a halt to their online operations. Clearly they may have come under pressure from employees who did not feel safe continuing to work, but with adjustments to shift patterns, better spacing of workstations and packing lines, the warehouse environment is considered by many to be considerably safer than, say, over-heated offices or retail stores.
It was very much a government position that buying online for home delivery would protect vulnerable consumers and with just about every supermarket home delivery service now having reached overload it is a strategy that is clearly keeping a good percentage of the population out of the stores. However, what quickly became clear is that a lot of the capacity was quickly snapped by those who actually need the service less and that the truly vulnerable didn’t stand a chance of getting their groceries delivered. Work is underway via a massive network of volunteers to step into this particular breach helping the government in it quest to request those consumers who can to stay at home.
One of the country’s most respected third party fulfilment businesses is South Devon based Clientbase. It works primarily for a range of niche direct to consumer businesses which sell from catalogues, space advertising, websites, online marketplace and social commerce sites. It says it has enabled a good number of its contact centre and administration team members to happily work from home, utilising its robust systems.
“We will continue to operate with the health and safety of our employees top of mind and knowing that we are providing our clients’ customers with access to the items they wish to buy from the safety of their homes,” commented Rob Smeddle, director, Clientbase.
Those still coming in to work in Clientbase’s contact centre have plenty of extra space around them. In the warehouse, pick & pack and despatch areas it has also achieved spacing as per the government’s recommendations. Its team members are responding very well to the demands of what has become a completely new peak period for many of its clients. These include strong brands in the gardening sector which is currently booming as those confined to home have more time than ever to tend to their gardens; a top gaming chair business which is attracting a new wave of customers preparing for an entertainment packed lockdown, as well as a prestige dog food supplier, and companies specialising in allergy related products. All are enjoying strong sales.
This experience follows the general consensus in the sector. The operations and fulfilment workplace can be made safe for employees and many actually prefer the freedom to come out to do an important job rather than languish at home.
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