Cold Meece - the jewel in the grs crown

Located in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside, the Cold Meece logistics centre bristles with the sort of technology that would have impressed the site's former owners, the Ministry of Defence.

Now the jewel in the crown of the grs business, the 36-acre site was formerly home to a wartime ballistics factory. "There was a railway line from Cold Meece directly to Stafford," explains General Manager Steve Beale. "They would make and test ammunition here and then ship it off to the frontline."

Today Cold Meece has an equally important frontline role, giving retailers all the ammunition they need to run their businesses as efficiently as possible. Every aspect has been purpose built to facilitate the smooth and efficient flow of vehicles through the site, which ensures they're ready for sale and delivery to retailers as quickly as possible.

Over the past 10 years grs has made a multi-million pound investment in the centre, at the heart of which sits a bespoke high-tech system which tracks and monitors the progress of every vehicle through the site. Once purchased, it also enables vehicles to be located within minutes, ensuring they are ready for collection or dispatch at a specific time.

While the technology undoubtedly plays an important part in the process, there's more to it than that, according to Steve Beale. "The efficiency of Cold Meece is built around the three Ps - people, planning and process," he explains. "Once vehicles arrive on site it's my responsibility to ensure they're logged in, inspected, cleaned, photographed and made ready for sale.

"The sales team will often pick up the phone and call retailers when there are vehicles coming in that match their buying profile, so it's not uncommon for them to have been sold even before they arrive on site," he continues. "Speed is essential and so everything - and everyone - must work together seamlessly."

As soon as cars and commercial vehicles arrive at Cold Meece they are all logged-in using a hand-held device which allocates each one a unique barcode. The on-site team of around 60 people then swings into action, starting with a thorough inspection.

"We look at every inch of every vehicle for any scuffs or dents, as well as making sure that all the specification is exactly as it should be, from spare keys and log books through to audio systems and spare wheels," continues Steve. "This is an incredibly important part of the process as retailers trust grs to provide high quality vehicles that meet their expectations in every way."

Although Cold Meece regularly receives 100 vehicles or more every day - or even up to 300 on really busy days - they will normally have been logged-in and inspected within just four hours. Those requiring refurbishment work are sent through to the workshop, before being cleaned and then photographed.

Throughout Cold Meece grs employs industry-beating standards of best practice, not least in the photographic suite which features a 360-degree turntable - one of the latest investments in the site. Vehicles are photographed both internally and externally from a number of angles and against a plain background.

Once photographed - and following a final quality control check - the information and images of each car and commercial vehicle are uploaded onto the grs website which retailers can access 24-hours a day. And all this is normally completed within just one day of vehicles arriving on-site.

"The barcode system ensures we know the exact location of each one," says Steve. "The logistics team can then get them ready for dispatch as soon as they've been sold."

As for the latest investment in the site, although it may not be another high-tech addition, it's an important one nonetheless. During the summer the grs sales team relocated from Shrewsbury to new accommodation at Cold Meece to help improve the service provided to retailers still further.

"Having the sales team in the same place as the vehicles makes great sense. If a retailer has a question about a specific vehicle we help the sales team to locate it within minutes and they can actually take a look," says Steve, who is inviting retailers to take a look round the site themselves.

"It's hard to visualise the Cold Meece operation unless you've seen it and retailers are very welcome to come and visit us to see how it all works."

Getting closer to customers: grs creates new field-based sales team

With the continuing shortage of stock making life challenging for retailers across the UK, the importance of buying good quality vehicles has been thrown into even greater focus, along with the need to understand the needs of the local market.

To help retailers achieve both of these business-critical objectives, grs has re-structured its sales team and made a number of new appointments. Moving away from a portfolio-based approach, the country has been divided into five regions, with retailers now benefiting from a two-person team who will work closely with them to maximise every opportunity for profit.

"We're proud of the service we've offered retailers, but we're always looking for ways of doing things differently and better on their behalf," says Sales Manager Dean Richards, who has recently recruited an additional four people, taking the sales team to a total of 10.

"These changes will take our service to a new level completely by offering retailers the best of both worlds - access to office-based as well as field-based experts."

Spending several days a week on the road, the field-based team will be available to meet with retailers, who can tap into their up-to-the-minute knowledge to ensure they have the right stock mix for their forecourts. "Our sales team act as buyers for retailers and will be working in partnership with them to find new opportunities and maximise profits," says Dean. "Rather than doing this remotely over the phone they are now able to meet in person, out on the forecourt."

Continues Dean: "Even in challenging times there are opportunities for retailers, as long as they understand and adapt to changing conditions. For example, families are looking for smaller, greener or more economical cars to keep running costs down, while many experienced trades-people who are striking out on their own are in the market for a good quality van.

"It's this sort of insight that we can offer, as well as helping to ensure retailers have the right makes, models and price range to meet the needs of their customers."

In addition to the right stock mix, the need for quality is greater than ever, according to Dean. "Quality has always been a watchword at grs and that won't change," he says. "We only buy the best quality vehicles, so retailers can rest assured that our standards - and their reputation - will always be maintained."

He adds: "What's more, we always do everything we can to help retailers derive additional value from every vehicle by looking to source items such as log books and spare keys, all at no extra cost."

And not only has the sales team been restructured, they have relocated into new purpose-built accommodation at Cold Meece."As well as getting closer to our customers through the creation of the field sales team, we're also getting closer to our vehicles!" says Dean.

Any retailers interested in visiting Cold Meece can contact Dean Richards on 0844 2255477.