Nestled in the foothills of Mount Wellington and overlooking the harbour, the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart, Tasmania, played host to more than 100 members of the RapidClean Group from 24 to 26 October for their annual conference and AGM. This year’s agenda included two conference days consisting of the group’s successful speed meeting sessions, board member presentations, and guest speakers entwined with social and networking events sponsored by various suppliers – the perfect mix of business and pleasure.
The social events kicked off the day before with a cruise of Peppermint Bay sponsored by chemical manufacturer Septone, followed by an informal dinner at Mures Upper Deck restaurant. But the next morning it was down to business with the conference taking place after a members’ only AGM.
Stuart White, RapidClean’s secretary greeted a ballroom full of members and suppliers with his usual wit, and introduced RapidClean’s chairman Greg Wild to officially open the 19th annual conference. Wild welcomed members, suppliers and special guests, with special mention to seven new members attending for the first time. “Welcome to the RapidClean family,” he said, “That’s what we have become – a cohesive organisation that can talk to each other without fear of competition.”
“RapidClean has had a successful year with preferred suppliers and we have exceeded the results we’d hoped for,” revealed Wild. “We have 23 out of 26 suppliers in the room which is a great achievement and we thank them for coming along,” Wild encouraged members to talk to suppliers, and to take advantage of the speed meeting sessions to communicate issues. “The more we buy from our preferred suppliers, the better we are, the bigger we grow, the more clout we have,” he reiterated.
General manager Bruce Lees took the podium to talk about the plan for RapidClean. “Last year I spoke about building infrastructure and foundations to enable the group to become a major player in the professional cleaning industry and we have made significant progress towards that goal,” he stated. Lees listed the group’s achievements including gaining seven new members, to make the total 42, releasing four specials catalogues, becoming a members of international supply group INPACS, hitting 15 long term growth incentives and increasing turnover by 26 percent – just to name a few.
Some of the goals Lees revealed for the new year focused on securing new business for members and suppliers through actions of RapidGroup’s national account manager Robert Musilli, offering e-commerce solutions for national accounts, providing effective printed and soft copy marketing material for members, completing the national membership network and increase purchasing from suppliers by 20 percent.
“Over the past three years we have added substantially to the RapidClean division throughout Australia and have grown from 26 to 42 members during that time. That still leaves five cities where we’d like to be represented. Our goal is to fulfil those vacancies so we can further enhance our ability to service customers throughout the country,” stated Lees.
“We’re very conservative about who we allow to join the group. The board takes into account the best interest of the existing members and suppliers when considering membership applications,” he noted. “We have many competitors in the market all fighting for our business. It is vital that we market the Rapid Group positively so that we can assist RapidClean to grow. I believe RapidClean members are the best suppliers to meet our customer’s needs for cleaning and packaging products. The challenge is convincing new customers that this is true.”
Lees went on to mention the achievements of employing a national accounts manager. “In Robert’s first year he has secured numerous national customers that are now taking advantage of using RapidClean for their national cleaning and packaging supply requirements. Our customers are enjoying a significant improvement in their supply chain because they are able to select the product range in their head office and negotiate a price utilising their collated buying power. This is complemented by their site staff working with specialised local cleaning supply stores who actually know what’s in the box.”
Lees also announced RapidClean’s decision to partner with Lennox Institute and its online and cloud-based training and induction program. Lees and Lennox’s general manager, Paul Morrall, agreed that RapidClean would place a link on its website. “The value to our customers is that irrespective of time or location, a new cleaner can complete an online induction program with a registered training organisation before they commence work,” commented Lees. “The plan is, as the program develops, we will host a full training program on our website.” Lees also mentioned a possible partnership with the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) regarding a new training program.
Lees concluded his address by stating what he wants members and suppliers to achieve from the speed meeting sessions. “We have received feedback from both members and suppliers that this is the most constructive part of the conference,” said Lees, offering an example as testament to this. “Lindsay Guy from RapidClean Newcastle informed me that one of his meetings last year resulted in an additional $10,000 worth of business per month with one supplier. Not all meetings will be about potential business opportunities, some will be about removing barriers or solving communication issues, but I know each of your 27 speed meetings will be productive.”
The afternoon saw guest speaker and business coach Charmian Campbell welcomed to the podium by Adam Cameron of Whereabout Supply, who had been working with Campbell to increase revenue and improve his business over the past 12 months. She spoke about having a vision for the business – make plans, focus on goals and always know the destination, or the result you want to achieve. “The customer experience starts from the moment you take the first phone call to the after-sale follow up,” said Campbell. “People buy based on certainty, not fear and a guarantee takes away that fear.”
Meanwhile pink ribbon ambassador Sharon Lees raised $1,060 for the Cancer Council through merchandise sales at a pink ribbon afternoon tea before the last of three speed meeting sessions concluded for the day. Members and suppliers enjoyed a cocktail dinner at Cascades Brewery sponsored by Royal Touch Paper Products, which included a beer pulling contest won by Jenny Wild from RapidClean New England.
The speed meeting sessions continued on day two, highlighted by a presentation from Lindsay Guy of RapidClean Newcastle with some hints, tips and selling advice, and an address from guest speaker Ian Hall from Newhall Janitorial – a specialist distributor of cleaning and hygiene products in the UK and member of European distributor and service group, INPACS.
Hall spoke about the formation of his company and the humble beginnings of INPACS, of which RapidClean is now an associate member. A strategic move, Lees and the group hope to achieve the same success as the European wholesaler, which boasts more than 400 application fields with over 12,000 stock items and a $1.8 billion group turnover per annum.
The conference came to a close with the RapidClean gala dinner and presentation night sponsored by Oates that saw the men in suit jackets and the ladies wearing their best dresses. The atmosphere was jovial as the suppliers gave their awards followed by the RapidClean awards – supplier of the year, million dollar award, multi-million dollar award, and the most sought-after decoration of all, member of the year. This year was won by RapidClean Perth and was graciously accepted by company director Ritchie Campbell.
RapidClean’s growth is testament to its success and with clear set goals, strategic alliances and training initiatives, the group looks to be advancing in the right direction. As Lees stated in his speech, “We want to move forward, not back, and together, we can achieve anything.”
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