The Background
P&N Homewares is a manufacturer of bespoke contemporary furniture based in Leicester. Experiencing incredible success and rapid growth over the past three years, P&N Homewares has evolved from a small online merchant to a top five seller on Amazon across the EU and USA.
Driven by two exciting, forward-thinking, young entrepreneurs whose vision for scalable growth has enabled a controlled expansion without losing focus on the key pillars of its business such as branding, product and key demographic. P&N’s dynamic sales team maximise opportunities provided by global e-platforms such as e-Bay, Amazon and Alibaba, to enable them to move into the EU and US markets.
P&N Homewares Challenge
P&N Homewares wanted to expand into Europe through its own platform and Amazon Prime without compromising on:
- Customer service support.
- Product quality.
- Diversity of sales platforms.
- Availability of potential markets.
- Speed to market.
If the challenge of controlled growth for an SME is not difficult enough, combining this with the instability of Brexit and the complexity associated with international markets, the difficulty is further compounded. For organisations without an existing global infrastructure or supportive freight partner, a continued or further expansion in trade within the EU is extremely difficult.
Designed to provide agility in a fast-changing market, P&N Homewares needed a key supply chain partner that integrated with its existing sales platform, supported its current trade and allowed it to enter a market in flux with the confidence and future proofed adaptability to cater for an unpredictable Brexit outcome. The aim to not only achieve its planned expansion but equally important to keep ahead of the competition.
Our Solution for P&N Homewares
As an existing client, P&N Homewares benefitted from beneficial credit terms to assist cash flow, a proactive account management structure to ensure friendly, efficient communications, IT integration providing full traceability and automated reporting, and importantly for this venture HMRC expertise and advice. In addition, with CML’s vast network of local partners, it was thereby no surprise that CML was invited to play a key role in the planning and implementation of P&N’s EU expansion.
Through CML’s existing partner network, it was able to provide a warehouse that not only met all the criteria required but was also less than 200 yards from Hamburg container port. CML’s partner could also offer a dedicated single-user warehouse with the scalability and flexibility of terms to allow both a steady and fast growth plan.
With a client base of retail, wholesale and ecommerce clients already in situ, it was a natural fit. Operating its own IT, integration with P&N Homewares ERP to receive automated order confirmations happened seamlessly whilst allowing portal access for visibility of pick and despatch status.
P&N’s market share has increased substantially, more than originally planned and importantly it has not had to compromise on any of its brand values or operating standards. P&N Homewares is confident in the support CML can provide and so happy with the new German solution that less than three months on from the initial consultation meetings, P&N Homewares is now planning a similar implementation in France.
“CML has supported us from the beginning of our P&N journey and we can’t be thankful enough. CML has given us their expertise and advice on many essential areas of our business such as freight, storage, HMRC and over all business development. CML truly cares about its customers and their tailor-made bespoke approach to our business is what we value the most.”
Prabhat Rai,
Managing Director at P&N Homewares Limited
For more information about CML or to find out more about its services, please visit www.cmlplc.com or call 01455 200 700.
