A visit by Peter Brett
It has been some years since I visited Draper’s facility at Chandler’s Ford near Southampton, and impressive it was then, especially the picking and despatch system for overnight orders. Recently, I was invited to have a closer look at the first stage of the new developments that have just been completed. Forget the Twentieth Century – I suspect that the trend set by Draper will become the way of doing business in the Twenty-first century for some of the big players in the tool market.
 In some ways the new facility flies in the face of the commonly accepted business practice of “just in time” ordering and distribution. The just in time system means that the holder is not faced with the costs of storing or holding (and therefore paying for) vast stocks of goods waiting to be sold. However, this rationale has been turned on its head by Draper. Draper is justifiably proud of having a huge range of goods in the catalogue – from garden products to specialist cutting tools- but modern consumers want stuff now, and if not now, then very soon. This is undoubtedly the influence of the internet generation. Research shows that if the customer doesn’t get what he wants quickly from one supplier, he moves to where he can get it.
Draper wants to allow its retailers to get the sale every time by offering overnight delivery of goods, from the tiniest to the largest, and this means that the goods have to be in stock in enough depth to fulfill orders immediately. In it’s effort to be a “one-stop-shop” Draper has therefore bit the bullet and invested heavily.
 Alongside the new developments at North Baddesley are a host of other changes within the business that complete the logic of the new facility. But more of these later, because I want to share with you some of the sheer vastness of scale of the new building program.
 No-one can accuse Draper of not being a forward-looking company because the seventy acres of land for the new development was acquired some considerable time ago and has been allowed to retain its old use until the new plan was ready to be implemented. Phase One of the plan has seen two huge new warehouse/ despatch buildings being built, along with the necessary infrastructure like roads, signage and would you guess it, drainage and water storage. Huge roofs collect massive amounts of rainwater and this has to go somewhere! With 100,000 square feet of extra area in Phase One already added and with three more phases still to go, you can see that this is an extremely ambitious venture and also a gesture from a company confident of its future.
 The new building has also been an ideal opportunity to install all the latest and most efficient “green” systems from lighting, computer tracking and stock control down to purpose-designed ramps for logistics vehicles.
As we walked down the huge rows of shelving for example, the lights above us lit up, and as we passed to the next section, they switched themselves off – energy saving in practice and on a scale that actually saves significant amounts of money too.
 The pictures above and overleaf may convey some of the huge scale of the buildings themselves, and I could only feel dwarfed by the huge racks of storage that towered three or four storeys above me.
But huge storage racks imply at least an efficient system of retrieving the goods stored on them. I watched while one (yes, only one) operative carrying an electronic gadget in his hand, located some products, slid the automatic sled in under the pallet and removed it with a fork-lift truck before carting it down to the despatch area for processing. This system works for anything from a single box to a whole pallet and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have thought it possible. The pallets can be stored seventeen deep in the racking, so this gives some idea of how big the racking is.
Clearly, Draper has had to invest in the most up-to-date stock control systems in order to make this storage viable and profitable, but its efficiency is not in question. Draper has already made such a system work at Chandlers Ford, so it’s just an extension to make it work even better at Baddesley. For example, under the newer system, Draper knows your order is correct when despatched because it is weighed. The computer knows the individual weight of each product that has been ordered and the computer cross checks this against what the total should therefore be. This therefore ensures that it is complete before despatch.
 The other thing I found absolutely astonishing was the sheer volume of goods in stock. It must be borne in mind this is nowhere near the full capacity of the storage, since the buildings are in a transition phase at the moment. I look forward to seeing it fully operational. I can truly say, hand on heart, that I have never seen so many black builders’ buckets and so many portable workbenches in one place at one time. And they were just two examples of stock going out on summer promotion deals for retailers! Clive Richardson quipped that you could park a 747 plane in one of the warehouses – if it were a small one you could probably take off in it too.
Now to deal with some of the other changes that has been made within the business to complete the logic of the new systems and buildings.
Draper stockists will already have come to grips with the new Draper range of tools. The eighty strong sales team have been familiarising customers with the Draper “Expert” range aimed at professionals, the “Draper” range for general and trade use, and the restyled blue and yellow Draper “DIY Series”.
Gardening tools have also had their packaging skillfully made over by the in-house Draper reprographics and design team.
This team devises packaging to be efficient, “green” and informative, with the Draper colours and branding clearly stated. It helps retailers who stock Draper products and minimises waste, as well as allowing a clear corporate branding to be consistently applied.
This wide range of “good, better, best” tools follows established practice in the tool trade, and the virtue of the system is that customers and retailers can buy products at whatever level is suitable for them. It is also possible to mix and match, because the retailer is not stuck with a single range. All the tools come from Draper, and Draper can supply whatever is wanted at the time that is wanted.
It is not entirely a joke that I use my 724 page Draper catalogue as a step-up when I do home decoration, because it is that thick. As long as I have known it, it has been expanding as the range of Draper tools gets wider and wider. The catalogue is legendary because it has been possible for some retailers to customise it with their own business names and logos overprinted on the cover. Draper has always recognised the independent retailer and his business and tried hard to support it.
Part of the new marketing logic means that the catalogue has had to be modernised and updated too. The printed catalogue is still available (designed by the in-house studios again) but more and more use is made of the online catalogue linked to the Draper website. The website, simply because it is possible to do it easily, provides information pop-ups, extra details and photographs of products and can be downloaded by retailers and customers alike for reference.
The website also has an important role in linking retailers and end-users with Draper so that they can literally see for themselves how the Draper System operates and what they can expect in the way of service and products. Just another example of how integration in a business can pay off. And I can also honestly say that it is one of the easier tools websites to use because there are so many different ways of arriving at the information you need about a product, even if you only have the sketchiest notion of what you are looking for when you start.
None of the above would be any use if the tools and other products from Draper were not up to standard. Over the years I have been using tools I have always known that Draper tools, whether “good, better or best” are fit for purpose, safe and reliable. Being such a huge purchaser Draper is able to set a standard when purchasing the tools it chooses to bring to market. To this end Draper insists that suppliers meet all relevant national, regional and international regulations regarding tool safety and specification standards.
We are all aware that a good number of our tools emanate from the Far East these days. In the past there have been concerns about some of the quality standards of the tools made there. This is one of the reasons Draper has a quality control laboratory at Chandler’s Ford that regularly checks batches of tools for safety and quality. For example, a safe hammer has to have been tempered and hardened so that it will not shatter or splinter when used. Hardness testing of hammers is routine for the quality control department at Draper.
With indisputable logic, Draper expanded with a Quality Control Office in China. Quality control, as previously mentioned, continues to take place on the factory floor and is a valuable shortcut in the chain. It saves money and fuel oil; consumers and dealers obviously receive the benefit of lower prices. Draper continues to monitor, and through supplier assessment ensures its factories conform to human rights, moral and ethical standards.
 Another innovation is the fully equipped power tool demonstration area. With the increasing range of static and portable power tools available under the Draper name, dealers are encouraged to come and see and try for themselves. Again this shows Draper’s commitment to its independent dealers and a further growth of sales since the dealers can clearly show their familiarity with the products.
 More storage space for Draper products at North Baddesley, coupled with electronic stock control and despatch systems, means that there is now more room for an even greater range of Draper tools and accessories. Draper as a company, never seems to be happier than when extending its product range.
For example the Draper garden and leisure/lifestyle range of tools and accessories is now huge.
But the range that really caught my eyes, since some of it is now on display in the Chandler’s Ford Building, is the PPE range. Personal Protective Equipment to the uninitiated. I was intrigued by this display because it encapsulates and illustrates several of Draper’s key aims when stocking products.
Health and Safety is a key issue these days and employers have a statutory duty to ensure the safety of operatives at work. For an employer, it would be perfectly possible to consult your Draper catalogue (paper or online) and order exactly what you need for your operatives (sizes, shapes and types of gear all catered for) knowing that what you order is safe, meets current British Standards, is fit for purpose, guaranteed and also price competitive. It is a true one-stop-shop, saving time and hassle. You would also know that it would be in stock and could be delivered to you next day.
Now in essence, that is what Draper has always tried to do ever since Bert Draper started selling tools in London in 1919. Current chairman, John Draper and his company continue the tradition in the newest, expanded version of Draper Tools in 2010.