Why should Scottish companies deal with each other?

Supermarkets and multinational stores have become one of the largest areas of employment for the Scottish economy. A lot of the private companies in Scotland who supply the supermarkets and large national companies are mainly food and drink orientated and rely heavily on these outlets. For a select few farmers, dairy producers and fruit growers this situation has worked well. Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose  are able to distribute their products throughout the UK.

However, we know that when supermarkets require forklift suppliers, they invariably choose the big multinationals. Inevitably this excludes the smaller Scottish companies.  This is something close to Harry Borthwick’s heart. The Managing Director of Access Mechanical Handling has noticed that larger organisations have recently been switched on to the benefits of sourcing local produce… the environmental benefits and social improvements of employing locally are combined with the cost savings and it becomes a great marketing tool. “Local sourcing of produce as a marketing and promotional tool is great, of course it is,” says Harry, “However what about localised logistics and technical engineering expertise too? Why do so many large organisations centralise their forklift servicing for example? Of course Scottish forklift suppliers are welcome to travel south to pitch for contracts and discuss requirements. This is something Harry has done a lot of over the years building up Access Mechanical Handling, with varying levels of success. However, the fact remains that with so many decisions on industrial elements negotiated and carried out on a national level from Kingston or London, Scottish forklifts suppliers are being denied the opportunity to break in to their own marketplace. The result is that smaller forklift companies in Scotland are losing vast opportunities to advance their businesses.”

It is therefore vitally important for Scottish forklifts companies to be given priority over larger national companies to supply the SCOTTISH market place. This is certainly recognised by many smaller companies but there are still too many dealing with large national forklift conglomerates. There are plenty well established forklift companies who can provide a first class service and supply but are never given the opportunity. All too often it’s impossible to even get in the door or to speak to anyone.

So, to answer the original question, why should Scottish companies deal with each other?

This is not simply a patriotic plea of solidarity to compatriots. There are clear advantages to commissioning local Scottish suppliers and they all follow the same ideas that are being used by the large organisations’ marketing campaigns….as local suppliers, (in this case Scottish forklifts suppliers), we know the local trading characteristics, we know the distances and travelling times required for attending to a a breakdown or maintenance job, we know more about the local weather conditions and how they might affect the performance of the forklifts in local situations. In short, Scottish forklifts suppliers are better able to offer a fast, experienced, effective and knowledgable service to Scottish companies or Scottish branches of multinationals. We believe that a company requiring forklifts in Glasgow or Edinburgh will be better supported by a Scottish forklifts supplier who will have full local knowledge and regional expertise and at the same time employing local people.

Another important element that should not be underestimated is the economic benefits to Scotland and other Scottish companies. The money made from dealing with local companies is more likely to be spent in Scotland on other Scottish businesses. Money spent on national and multinational companies is more likely to end up as profits in English companies or the coffers of other nations. This is to the obvious detriment of the Scottish economy as a whole. The more money spent in Scotland on Scottish companies means more money circulates in Scotland, resulting in higher prosperity for all of Scotland.

If you would like to discuss more about how we, as a Scottish company are perfectly suited to work with you on your forklifts solutions or help with your forklift truck servicing please feel free to call us on 01698 745859 or drop us a line on our contact page.