Bence builders’ merchants
There is no doubt that in times of crisis, a business needs strong leadership.
Agility has been the keyword for many; with the Government announcements coming thick and fast in the first few weeks, business leaders were under pressure to comprehend the changes and what they meant for their businesses, and then communicate this to their employees effectively in a relatively short space of time.
Paul Bence, is the sixth generation of the Bence family currently leading Bence builders’ merchants, and explained how none of that history and experience could have prepared them for the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented them with.
Despite the challenges, the business has reacted swiftly to each release of guidance, continued operating throughout lockdown, and is now implementing changes to ensure the business continues to service the local and national industry in the future.
PEOPLE ARE THE FOUNDATION
It comes as no surprise that as a long-standing family business, the values and wellbeing of its people remain at the heart of Bence’s operations.
In a recent interview with the Builders Merchants Federation, Paul highlighted showing your human side and engaging personally with staff as his number one priority in five top tips for leadership. In talking to us, he emphasised the need for a high level of emotional intelligence to lead people effectively through times of crisis.
In the very early stages of lockdown, Paul and his commercial director, Carlwyn Coombes, made the most of being an independent business and took the time to visit each of their sites and speak to everyone to find out how they were feeling about the situation and how feasible it would be to continue operating from their point of view.
Being able to show empathy and demonstrate understanding of the impact of the crisis on individuals in this way goes a long way to developing the trust your employees have in you and a stronger team for tackling what the future holds.
MANAGING THE SUPPLY
Having spoken to all of their employees, Bence’s took the decision to stay open during lockdown. With the world confined to their homes unless absolutely necessary, the DIYers came out in force; home training courses and YouTube instructional videos replaced pubs and restaurants and the builders’ merchants that had managed to stay open were inundated with grateful customers looking to source materials for their next project.
Bence’s has found that people have travelled from miles around to purchase their products and have been very grateful that the business made the efforts to stay open safely, so that some semblance of life could continue.
The main challenge has come in maintaining stock levels for certain products. Unsurprisingly, the supply chain for landscaping products is particularly under strain and Paul expects this to transfer to other products as the construction industry continues to get moving again.
His passion for the industry in which he works is clear; not only considering the impact of supply on his own business, but also how not being able to source sufficient product will impact the businesses they work with. Plaster products are a good example of this; due to shortages, Bence’s sourced a new supplier in Poland and Paul was keen to emphasise the importance of continuing to supply a specialism that is widely made up of sole traders who rely on purchasing their products. The business is taking responsibility for the role that they play in the supply chain in order mitigate risk for themselves and their customers.
BUILDING THE FUTURE
Paul explained that due to a combination of factors, the construction industry tends to be in the front seat when it comes to an economic downturn, and so despite the recent positive trends, they will not be taking it easy. In fact, Paul asserts that many experts are considering the upturn they are currently experiencing could in fact be a false dawn, with consumers panic buying, expecting shortages further down the line.
On a more positive note, the benefit of the whole situation, as many businesses are eluding to, is that the crisis has pushed Bence’s into making decisions that they may not have done previously.
Online operations and a new ecommerce site now present a real opportunity for the business and will become a key focus. Prior to the pandemic, Bence’s was a traditional builders’ merchants operating with a mobile salesforce tasked with meeting customers face-to-face and developing strong relationships with their network. Video conferencing was totally alien, but is now firmly part of the business and saving both time and money.
Despite its clear benefits, the development of online operations is one that comes with its own trials. Paul was quick to point out that they are not Amazon, and managing stock for over 15,000 product SKUs whilst operating with uncertain supply chains may be a bit of a guessing game to start off with.
Fundamentally, it is clear that the strong networks and relationships that Bence’s have developed over their many years in operation will provide a great foundation to make the transitional change to an increased online offering. Despite the challenges ahead, people still do business with people and Bence’s people have been doing it since 1854.
MEET THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Paul Bence
Born and bred in Cheltenham, Paul achieved a degree from university in Bristol and then spent a year in the U.S with a construction based work placement in Maryland and further education in Pennsylvania. After accepting a graduate management position at Aggregate Industries, he ended up taking a position with the family business and took over as MD at the ripe age of 30. The followingdecade showed a period of exponential growth and under Paul’s leadership the George Bence Group has 5 branches and over 130 staff with expertise in various product specialisms. Paul is also the Commercial Director at Cheltenham Town Football Club, a trading director at a national buying group for independent businesses and the chairman of the Builder’s Merchant Federation Kitchen & Bathroom Forum.