Grouptyre warehouse openings cap year of development for wholesaler

Grouptyre opened new warehousing facilities in Tyne and Wear in September, joining other recent additions in Aylesbury, Brentwood, Leeds and Worcester over the last 12 months – a busy period for the company. In addition to this investment in its physical infrastructure, 2014 also saw the wholesale group launch an improved e-Commerce facility, Tyres Online. The 10 regional wholesalers of which Grouptyre is composed have in these ways improved their local service offer both on the logistics side and with an improved sales tool for its customers.

“This year has so far been a very exciting year for Grouptyre”, says Paul Hollows, Grouptyre’s sales director. “The new warehousing facilities we now have in place and future planned developments are allowing us to further improve on our excellent service levels for our customers.”

Grouptyre’s turnover currently approaches £300m, with a collective fleet of over 400 delivery vehicles nationwide, and the developing distribution locations – which currently number 40 – have helped to extend its multiple daily deliveries to customers. The wholesaler has a stockholding of more than one million tyres across these locations. The group’s team on the ground currently numbers three regional managers and 36 business development managers, which Grouptyre claims is the largest in the industry.

The wholesaler has also developed its relationship with manufacturers of what it terms “exclusive margin brand products”. The Shandong Jinyu produced Evergreen brand has dipped a toe into UK grassroots motorsport sponsorship this year, with support from Grouptyre (see textbox), while the wholesaler also has deals with Federal, Goodride and Landsail. The wholesale group provides dealer support packages for these brands, with access to exclusive dealer promotions and point of sale material and merchandise.

In addition to its new e-Commerce system, Grouptyre has also developed its customer ordering systems. Grouplink, Grouptyre’s online ordering service, enables dealers to access information on current stock levels and availability, including pricing and tyre labelling information. Alongside the improving logistics, this allows tyre dealers to offer customers locally warehoused products.

Grouptyre’s development has also been recognised with a nomination in the Tyre Industry Awards. Hollows comments: “We are delighted that Grouptyre (UK) Ltd have once again been nominated in the category of Tyre Wholesaler of the Year, and this once again confirms Grouptyre’s standing within the industry.  We would like to thank customers and staff alike for their part in helping Grouptyre move from strength to strength.”