Realising global aspirations
wnDirect has launched a new initiative that will be dedicated to helping small to medium retailers realise their global aspirations.
Kelly Wright has joined wnDirect as SME sales manager and has been tasked with launching this new initiative. Prior to joining wnDirect Kelly was at MetaPack working as an implementations manager and cross border trade analyst. She has significant ecommerce and logistics experience and is excited to be joining the wnDirect team.
Discussing the new service offering Kelly says: “To be able to go to the smaller retailers with a suite of cutting edge solutions that are accessible and cost effective for them is very exciting. Very often smaller retailers battle with logistics services as, until they have the volume, service providers are not particularly interested in them. Our approach is different; our SME offering has been designed with the knowledge and experience of global retailers, but has been tailored to suit the needs, volumes and budgets of smaller operators.”
wnDirect has successful UK and US outbound operations with further expansion plans due to be announced shortly.
Kelly continues: “Many of the retailers we have spoken to find our business and our story very aspirational. We make a perfect partner as we not only have the infrastructure, knowledge and experience to help them grow their business, we are also entrepreneurially minded, which means, in simple terms, we ‘get’ them.”
Speaking about the launch Stuart Hill, wnDirect CEO says: “There is some deeply entrenched stereotypical thinking about smaller companies with some believing them to be local or, at best, regional with a fear of technology and little or no intention to expand globally. However, for many that couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is, SMEs are operating in new and exciting business environments, which is seeing them transform themselves radically. The most forward thinking SMEs believe they are not only capable of going head to head with the larger retailers, but have significant advantages over them. The reality is some of the biggest eCommerce players were, themselves, SMEs very recently. When I was with ASOS we were just starting to make our mark so I know from experience the value of a strong retailer / supplier relationship and how a partnership approach can pay dividends. We want to work alongside the smaller eCommerce players and help them realise their potential.
“The growth of ecommerce has also motivated a shift in the consumer’s perceptions. While they still seek out the big brands, they are also excited by the notion that they might have uncovered the next big thing. Consumers love niche brands and by working with these SME retailers we can deliver their products to these forward thinking consumers.”