Case Study - JD Wetherspoons

JD Wetherspoon's is one of the highest regarded brand name in the food and beverage sector. After opening their first pub 28 years ago they have fast become one of the nations most popular hangouts, based on 'a community of deeply committed, ambitious and hard-working people'.

A&D Corporate Clothing have been serving up a winning combination of unique designs teamed with a strong commercial image for the uniforms since December 2003 when they we first awarded the contract.

This partnership started from day one with both A&D Corporate Clothing’s design and account management teams visiting the ever expanding 670 sites across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They experienced the working environment and identified what fabrics were practical and additional requirements of pockets, key hooks etc that would make the busy working day easier for the wearer.

Management

Wetherspoon's has two types of sites, namely JDW which offers food and beverages and then Lloyds No 1 which has a more contemporary, fun and funky feel to it. In both cases it was important to create a unique brand image that spanned both types of venues offering a smart yet contemporary look while still reflecting both images, but not forgetting the need for comfort and practicality for staff whether they are working in the kitchens, serving customers or overseeing the general running of each site.

With 130,000 garments being issued yearly by A&D Corporate Clothing, it was important for the account management team to understand just how best to service the needs of all 18,000 full and part time staff.

In partnership A&D Corporate Clothing and JD Wetherspoons formulated a back to back on line ordering system which allows for orders to be processed and despatched on time thereby making sure the staff always look their best and their only worry is serving up those winning combinations.

Full EDI Integration

Utilising the latest in computer technology JD Wetherspoons and A&D Corporate Clothing have a fully integrated IT solution for managing the garment requirements.

Utilising the latest EDI systems orders are received electronically straight into A&D's X3 system where they are picked, packed and dispatched the same day.

An electronic receipt of order is sent immediately and this is followed by an electronic file on shipment giving full details of the delivery.

On receipt of the goods the pub confirms each product received. This generates an automatic invoice on the JDW system and A&D produce their own invoice, but it is not required for payment.

As the transaction is completed, delivery confirmed and an invoice raised automatically, all on the same original authorised order number, payment is authorised quickly.

The advantage of this system is that both parties reduce administration and dispatch is quicker.