AO Business, online electrical retailer, explores how their B2B division is instrumental in transforming the B2B appliance buying market and customer satisfaction
AO Business is the B2B division of online electrical retailer AO.com. AO was founded by CEO John Roberts in 2000 after a £1 bet with a friend that he couldn’t change the face of the white goods market, now two decades later, the business has millions of happy customers across the UK and Germany. In 2020 alone, the business was able to create 1,200 new, high-quality roles to help support the growth they have made. AO’s mission is to become the global destination for electrical goods, they aim to do this by going above and beyond for their customers, and with almost 250,000 ‘excellent’ reviews on Trustpilot the public has certainly taken to the ‘AO way.’
AO launched its business-to-business division after recognising that their 20 years of experience in providing five-star customer service to the public could be instrumental in transforming the B2B market. AO Business can offer clients a better way of buying appliances by utilising their own logistics fleet that delivers 7 days a week. Their drivers can install both freestanding and integrated appliances and they can even take old items away and recycle them at their plant in Telford. This provides customers peace of mind that from start to finish AO can deal with every step of the delivery process for them. Over 90% of postcodes in the UK are covered by their next-day delivery offer which provides housebuilders with the security and confidence that the appliances they need will be delivered on schedule. In fact, after just 6 months of moving into the housebuilder market in 2019, they found themselves with contracts for over 12,000 building plots!
Last year, AO saw huge levels of growth which allowed the company to invest in its infrastructure and AO UK’s operation now has over 1.5 million sq ft of warehousing space and a network of 20 outbases that spans across the country. This increase in warehouse space means AO’s goods in capacity has doubled, allowing it to hold 3 months of stock at one time. This means that contractors can always rely on AO’s unique delivery and installation proposition. With the UK’s housing demands growing, this way of operating has been welcomed throughout the sector.
AO Business wants to make sure that the industry no longer has to accept ordering appliances weeks in advance only for delays to cause projects to suffer financially when those items don’t arrive on time.
AO Business has formed strong relationships with the best-known manufacturers to ensure that they can offer customers a wide selection of products at the best possible price. They recognise that investing in a reliable brand will give housebuilders the peace of mind that the item they have purchased will be built to last, this means that they can concentrate on finding appliances with the innovative features and benefits new homeowners are really looking for.
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Media contact
Rebecca Morpeth Spayne,
Editor, Showhome Magazine
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: editor@yourshow-home.com
