VOW Marketing Director, Helen Wade says that the wholesaler’s dealer first strategy is paying dividends with the approach being recognised in a series of award announcements. The company and its staff have been shortlisted in five categories at the upcoming BOSS Industry Awards and a further two at the prestigious Sheffield Business Awards.
VOW’s strategy is to improve the experience that dealers have of VOW, to create opportunities for dealers to sell more, and to deliver the innovation that dealers need to operate successfully. Evidence of these ambitions can be found in the breadth of categories covered by the nominations.
For the BOSS Awards, the Initiative of the Year submission was based upon VOW’s new Transport Management System, the result of a £750k investment designed to boost their commitment to environmental sustainability whilst creating new levels of ease and efficiency in its deliveries across the UK and Ireland network.
In the e-Business category, the Post Office Shop, developed and operated by VOW’s retail division has had a very successful year, driving year-on-year sales growth, gaining new customers, improving the retention of existing customers and delivering platform developments to aid customer navigation, digital search footprint and user experience across the desktop/mobile interfaces. These advancements during 2019 saw the Post Office Shop appear in the IRUK list of the Top 150 UK online retailers for the first time.
VOW’s catalogue is the prime selling tool for many of its resellers, and at a time when the use of paper catalogues is frequently questioned, this year it was snapped up in unprecedented numbers. Over 350,000 copies were distributed, underlining its importance to them, and with almost 1,000 pages and the addition of more than 3,000 new products, it’s bigger and better than ever. The catalogue has been shortlisted as Publication of the Year.
Whilst VOW is keen to point out that its success this year has been down to an outstanding team effort across the business, there has also been personal recognition from the BOSS Federation judging panels for a couple of individuals who have driven the success.
Marketing Director, Helen Wade and Product Marketing Manager, Scott Castle have both made the final short list for the Professional and Emerging Professional of the Year for their outstanding contributions to the success of VOW’s marketing initiatives during 2019.
At the Sheffield. Business Awards, Vow are finalists in the category of Large Business of the Year, an award which they won last year.
In addition, the VOW team were particularly delighted to have been shortlisted in the category of Excellence in Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility. Their entry was based upon the evolution program that has seen the Company invest in reducing emissions, packaging and energy usage, while focusing on raising standards in the supply chain, improving wellbeing and the environment for its staff and the wider community.
Helen Wade says: “We are delighted to be short listed in these seven categories and we’re massively encouraged that the initiatives that we have been driving are being recognised and valued. We’ll continue to be looking at ways to evolve and improve our portfolio and our service offering. If our efforts as individuals and a team are recognised, then that’s the icing on the cake.”