Coronavirus: senior staff on depot floor help meet demand

Wholesalers Parfetts, Nisa and Filshill have redeployed senior staff to the depot floor in order to meet challenges posed by coronavirus.

Parfetts operates seven cash and carries and the Go Local symbol group. Joint managing director Greg Suszczenia said the firm was recruiting new staff and redeploying field and head office teams into depots to restock shelves and pick orders. 

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The move was made to cover the impact of the virus on staff levels and to meet unprecedented demand from retailers.  

As of 21 March, Parfetts’ weekly sales were double that of the same week in 2019. 

Meanwhile, Scottish wholesaler Filshill put its senior team into depot. 

One store owner reported: “As I drove in, the first person I saw in a high-vis vest and jeans was [managing director] Simon Hannah, then Nick Hannah [director]. 

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“After collecting my order outside, [commercial director] Chris Miller helped me load my vehicle. Absolutely second-to-none service.”

Nisa chief executive Ken Towle was also on hand during overnight picking and loading operations in an attempt to clear “severe” backlogs that have seen orders cancelled. 

In relation to the backlogs, Nisa retailer Andy Burns said he had not received a chilled or frozen delivery from the wholesaler in seven days. 

Find out more on our coronavirus information hub for retailers