In metropolitan markets, a significant portion of BlueScope Distribution’s customer base is comprised of large public and private building, manufacturing and construction companies servicing large projects. Increasingly though, trade and retail customers are also seeking BlueScope Distribution’s quality products and services for smaller projects, from trade businesses needing roofing and fencing, to steel and aluminium fabrication, and homeowners completing home improvement projects, the new Bibra Lake direct to public and trade sales office is open to help. Over the past 12 months, BlueScope Distribution, Bibra Lake – a centre located south of the Perth CBD – has grown its direct to public and trade sales office to meet the needs of increasing customer demand for quality steel and aluminium products in smaller lots and quick turnaround to get the job done. BlueScope Distribution Bibra Lake Sales Manager, Aaron Turner, said the decision to separate trade and retail customers at the Bibra Lake site had yielded many benefits. “Previously we had an operating environment that was geared purely towards servicing bulk steel and aluminium requirements via truckloads. While this is an immensely important part of our business, we also needed to be able to service our smaller retail and trade customers safely and efficiently. These customers may have to arrange pickup using a ute or towing a small trailer and trying to share space with large trucks taking on big loads presents many challenges,” Aaron said. “As well as the potential dangers of this, they could also be left waiting for larger orders to be loaded onto the trucks, when all they needed was a sheet or two of mesh, something that should be a quick ‘in and out’.” The solution was to accommodate trade and retail customers in a second building on site, providing them with easier and faster access to the materials they required, while also giving them more personalised service from a dedicated team, spearheaded by Customer Service Officers, Sarah Clausen and Jessica Dibben. In keeping with the service available to its larger corporate customers, trade and retail partners could also access processing services such as routing, shearing and cutting on a smaller scale. The BlueScope Distribution Bibra Lake team also needed to establish new administration processes and procedures to better suit the needs of these customers – this included setting up new systems to facilitate cash sales without the need to have an account with the company. “For occasional or one-off purchases, it’s easier and more convenient for some customers to simply pay by cash or credit card, without establishing an account with us,” Aaron said. “Our team has dedicated a lot of time and effort towards making interactions with BlueScope Distribution as efficient, convenient and enjoyable as possible for trade and retail customers, and feedback from them has been overwhelmingly positive.” “We’ve also seen a significant increase in business from these customers since having transitioned to this new model, which is further evidence that we’ve taken the right direction.” “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done to embark on this new venture for BlueScope Distribution.” Follow BlueScope Distribution Bibra Lake on Facebook Learn More Learn More 25 Business News – Bibra Lake Direct to Public