Dobbies is the UK’s leading garden centre retailer with 74 stores across the UK. In 2020, Wincanton created a distribution centre for Dobbies at its shared fulfilment hub in Wigan. The solution enhances in-store availability, simplifies business processes, reduces costs and improves sustainability. It also fulfils all direct-to-customer orders, with large products being delivered via Wincanton’s two-person home delivery network.

Wincanton demonstrated resilience, breadth and agility in its partnership with Dobbies. Early engagement coincided with the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system at the garden centre retailer, a major activity for any organisation and its supply chain. Wincanton had to be flexible in its approach, identifying opportunities to bring services to market early in the implementation while aligning other services with legacy systems for migration later in the transition.

Overcoming such challenges means the partnership between Dobbies and Wincanton is based on a culture of continuous improvement, further facilitating business improvements. At the heart of success is a relationship that asks, ‘How do we improve?’ and ‘Where next?’. Wincanton and Dobbies have created a partnership focused on the next steps that will enable future success.

In 2020, Dobbies launched its small-format little dobbies concept store in Edinburgh, followed by Bristol and three London stores, as part of its continuing ambition to develop and grow the business. The little dobbies format offers the Dobbies experience in towns and cities and was created in response to the increased consumers preference for shopping locally, plus the growing number of gardening and houseplant enthusiasts.

As the partnership asks, ‘Where next?’ customer service is always at the heart of those decisions. Wincanton for Dobbies has achieved a 78% NPS (Net Promoter Score) – an exceptional result which demonstrates consistency of multi-channel delivery and a partnership that puts forward the best possible customer experience.

Mark Barnes, Supply Chain Director at Dobbies, said:

“It is very much a partnership that we have in place with Wincanton. They understand the importance of a flexible and agile supply chain, as well as our focus on ensuring a positive customer experience. Their focus on sustainability is also very important, as we progress with our #SustainableDobbies journey.”