Fulfilment company Fullers Logistics is helping its B2B clients switch to the e-commerce market as demand for online shopping grows during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Sales of wellbeing and beauty products stored and distributed from its Thames Valley warehouses have increased rapidly in the past month as more people purchase goods over the internet.
Nutritional supplement business NeoLife, Fable and Mane, which produces holistic plant-based hair products, and Biocell, which offers face masks, collagen shots and capsules containing hyaluronic acid, have also seen orders grow as they ensure customers’ needs are met during this difficult time.
Fullers B2C clients’ businesses have grown between 100-300% in the past month, and the fulfilment and distribution service is helping its B2B clients to migrate to a B2C offering.
One such business, Simply Ingredients, which supplies different flours and bakery ingredients to the restaurant and wholesale markets, has made the switch to e-commerce resulting in a growth in sales.
Fullers packs and distributes orders to businesses as well as customers directly. Its sales for products sent directly to customers has increased by 45% over the past six weeks.
Tony Dempsey, divisional director, said: “We’ve seen these sharp rises over the last few weeks proving the coronavirus outbreak is having an impact on people’s shopping habits.
“People still want to shop, perhaps now more than ever, and we’re able to get the items they need distributed quickly.
“What isn’t usual is the measures we now have in place to ensure our workers are kept safe while they fulfil these orders.
“Our employees are our number one priority, and the nature of much of our work means it cannot be done from home, so we are going above and beyond the NHS guidelines to ensure we look after everyone well.”
Safety measures include sanitising all high frequency contact spots such as door handles, every hour, changing shift patterns and workloads to ensure people can always keep two metres apart, and ensuring enough Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) is available.
Fullers is also regularly checking the temperatures of team members and has support in place to help staff with any mental health issues or challenges they are facing.
