The Rapid Group has continued to deliver growth in 2020 despite the disruption and unprecedented demand for products during COVID-19.

In 2020, the Rapid Group ramped up its digital capabilities – with a new state of the art RapidClean website and online ordering system – increased personnel and released new product lines – all while facing increased demand across the country.

“Overall, it’s been a solid year for the business,” explains Bruce Lees, General Manager of the Rapid Group.

In Australia, the Rapid Group reported growth of 16.5 per cent last financial year, while New Zealand grew 43.4 per cent. The Rapid Group has more than 55 stores across Australia and 12 stores in New Zealand, having recently opened its second site in Auckland.

“Like all businesses, we were affected by COVID-19, and the huge demand for a narrow range of products at the peak of the pandemic, but as a group we have managed the past few months really well.”

The group’s key account program grew 56 per cent, with the co-operative securing new major supplier agreements with Karcher, Whiteley Corporation and GOJO, taking the total number of key suppliers in its preferred supplier program to more than 30.

Clicks and bricks

The Rapid Group invested significantly in digital, with a new website for its Australian network.

Launched in August 2020, the website features additional resources such as online training courses, videos, product information, industry specific catalogues and safety data sheets.  A new website for New Zealand is expected to be launched early 2021.

“We have aimed for the website to be state-of-the-art in terms of providing information for the industry.  It is crucial for us to make sure our customers can find the product information – or supplementary information – they need to then order on online or go in-store and make a purchase.”

The group also launched its new bespoke online ordering portal for key account customers, RapidNet.

“RapidNet has been a big game changer for us,” explains Lees.

The fully automated system has been designed specifically for building service contractors (BSCs). BSC management can use RapidNet to select a basket of goods from which their area managers can order.

Users can set a site budget per month complete with a management approval system for orders over budget. An order placed via RapidNet is directed to a local store within seconds, and commonly delivered within hours.

“This system allows companies that are cleaning multiple sites to manage the products used on each of their sites and negotiate national pricing complete with having the support of our local stores throughout Australia,” says Lees.

RapidNet is expected to be launched for New Zealand customers in 2021.

New products released by the group this year included a RapidClean range of eight floorcare products for both carpet and hard floors, as well as a new range of sanitisers for both hands and hard surfaces.

The Rapid Group also continued to develop its RapidGreen website and expand its online product range. RapidGreen is a dedicated e-commerce platform of fully accredited and certified environmentally friendly products. The website features products that hold third party environmental certifications including GECA, FSC, Recognised or PEFC.

But for Lees one of the biggest innovations has been within human resources.

“We have seen many of our competitors reducing their personnel and offering less service to their customers, however, it is our belief that our customers still want to be able to talk to suppliers with good product knowledge and the ability to solve problems.

“Whilst we have significantly improved our online services, we have also increased our numbers including recently promoting Donna Willmette to a Key Account Manager position to look after our national accounts in support of our General Manager of Sales, Lucas Paris.

“We will continue to increase the service offering to RapidClean customers at both a national and local level in keeping with our national strength, local service spirit. “

COVID-19 response

The major challenge for the group’s network during COVID-19 has been meeting the unprecedented demand for products such as disposable gloves, hand sanitiser, and toilet paper.

“At the height of demand, our stores rationed product to fulfil existing customer needs,” explains Lees.

“We were inundated with people wanting products who were not previously customers with Rapid, but we were careful to make sure we supplied to our existing customers conservatively. Some of our stores temporarily closed the doors to walk in-trade in order to supply to existing customers and to maintain the wellbeing of the staff in those stores where demand was unprecedented.

“In March we had almost double the turnover of a normal month. For any business to be able to manage that puts a lot of stress on systems and also on people. Our members should be congratulated on how they accepted the challenge, responded to it, and managed their team’s mental wellbeing.”

In response to the pandemic, Rapid launched COVID-specific online training courses in collaboration with Daniels Associates, available via the RapidClean website, including a free to access Chemical Handling Course.

“There were a lot of people handling chemicals who had not had previous exposure to handling dangerous goods, so we made this course free to the industry to try and prevent injuries.  From there we created COVID-related training courses for those looking for more extensive training.”

Despite the challenges, Lees says COVID-19 has provided new opportunities for Rapid and broadened its existing customer base.

“Demand from some of our traditional customers such as office buildings, schools and stadiums, has lessened while they’re either closed or starting to re-open, however we have been able to gain many new customers in new sectors such as healthcare and aged care.”

Looking ahead, the immediate focus for the Rapid Group is continuity of supply.

As Lees explains: “We want to maintain our high levels of customer service, great pricing, online efficiency, as well as ensure consistency of supply with our customers.

“A lot of customers were unable to obtain the products they wanted during the peak demand period earlier this year, so we are constantly working hard to maintain continuity of supply.

“People who traditionally would purchase based on the cheapest price are now looking a bit closer in terms of who they are dealing with and making sure that who they are working with is able to sustain supply. That is where we believe our national service, local service combination is a huge strength in the market.”

The Rapid Group will also expand its range of products and programs.

“We have some really exciting new programs and products coming soon, which we think will encourage more people to trade with their local Rapid store.”

But for now, the challenge for the market is adapting to the new normal, according to Lees, who believes more attention is now being placed on products from both an environmentally and efficacious standing.

“People are more conscious of cleaning than they ever have been. It was previously seen as something that needed to be done, but there was not a lot of attention paid to the product or the process. Now the cleaning process is being more carefully monitored and

“We think this is an opportunity to lift the prominence of our industry. We have recently partnered with Karcher to support the Thank you Cleaner day which is a wonderful initiative to show genuine and heart felt appreciation to the people who clean our facilities and keep us safe. It is often a thankless task and we want to play our part in generating recognition for the crucial role that cleaners play in our society.

“The current pandemic has shown that we cannot be totally reliant on imported products and there has been a significant increase in demand for local products, which is a strong opportunity for us as an Australian and New Zealand-owned entity. We are committed to offer genuinely effective environmentally accredited products with supporting material and training to help lift our industries performance and prominence.”

This article first appeared in the November/December issue of INCLEAN magazine. 

Read the original article here .

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