Interview With Marshalls: Jon Ellinger, Procurement Category Manager

Welcome to the third of Dakota’s exclusive customer interviews.

This time we had the pleasure of speaking with Jon Ellinger, Procurement Category Manager at Marshalls, to find out how Dakota work with Marshalls as their incumbent printing hardware, software and consumables supplier.

With over 3,200 employees nationwide and more than 33,000 products on offer, Marshalls is a leading external landscaping, interior design, paving and flooring products enterprise, offering its customers a complete service which includes planning, engineering, guidance and delivery, underpinned by a wide range of innovative product solutions specifically designed, developed and created with the ‘Built Environment’ in mind.

Read on to find out more. 

Enjoy!
The Team at Dakota

1. What are your main areas of responsibility within Marshalls?

At Marshalls I undertake the roles of Car Fleet Manager and Procurement Category Manager.

2. How long have Marshalls been a Dakota customer?

We have been a Dakota customer for over ten years.

3. How did you first come into contact with Dakota?

Dakota was already one of our main suppliers when I took over my current procurement role. I did not feel the need to look elsewhere for an alternative provider as the relationship between Dakota and Marshalls was already working exceptionally well.

4. Which products from Dakota are you currently using?

We are currently using various different types of labels for identifying products on pallets as well as labels for individual product packs within the pallets. We also purchase ribbons, other consumables and Zebra label printers from Dakota, as well as NiceLabel LMS Pro software, as recommended by Dakota, to ensure that all labelling complies with the required industry standards.

5. How are the products used within your warehousing facility?

We use different types of labels within our facility, namely various synthetic and paper varieties. The synthetic labels are used for products which are stored outside at builders’ merchants for example, whereas paper labels are used for products which are not open to the elements during storage.  We also use large high visibility transit labels for easy viewing in poorly lit environments.

Dakota supply the labels, printers, software and printing consumables to all of our 18 sites across the UK. As a business we prefer to utilise the same supplier for every site so each new site which we open has Dakota set up as the preferred supplier for these items.

6. What have been the main business benefits you have experienced/achieved as a result of your Dakota product solution?

As a business we realise that there are a lot of label suppliers out there, however we get a highly competitive price on these products from Dakota, but most importantly we get a great level of service. Our labels are mission-critical so if there is a supply issue then it could cause a problem further up the chain in production, so the main business benefit which we achieve with working with Dakota is supply reassurance, confidence and total peace of mind.

7. What are Dakota’s specific USPs?

Dakota is an extremely customer-focused organisation with a fantastic degree of knowledge about the products and solutions which they sell. They listened to what we required from a printing, labelling and label design perspective and provided us with the perfect solution to suit our needs and requirements as a business. They never fail; products are always delivered on time, every time, and they offer a rapid response in the event of any queries from our side. 

8. How would you rate your experience with Dakota?

I have nothing but praise for Dakota; their customer service levels are excellent. Not only do they offer highly competitive pricing on the products which we purchase from them, they are also second-to-none in terms of the service which we receive. I would not hesitate to recommend Dakota to anyone looking for a printing and labelling solution and I very much look forward to the continuation of this highly successful working relationship in the future.