YPIE Tour Blog Day 10: Axminster Tools & Machinery

Emily Dwyer of Herman Miller starts our final week of the Young Professional Industry Experience tour blog off by writing about the group’s trip to Axminster Tools & Machinery.

Our final week of the Young Professional Industry Experience course began with a trip to Axminster, visiting a manufacturer and supplier of the same name.

After arriving at Axminster Tools & Machinery, we were given a brief overview of the company and its history by Managing Director Alan Styles and Financial Director Michael Trimble. Following this, we were taken on a tour of the site which accommodates all aspects of the company, from accounting and marketing to picking and training.

One of the main features of this tour was the conveyor system, which is employed for picking orders. This system has evidently had a dramatic and positive impact on the business, improving the efficiency of their picking and dispatching process.

After the tour, we were taken to the skill centre. This part of the site is used for training courses, which are available to both the trade and public. The range of courses on offer accommodate varying degrees of skill and experience, and cover a broad spectrum of subjects.

Here, we were given a demonstration by Antony Jempson of the Lamello Joining System – an inventive new approach to joining available in the UK, only through Axminster.

After lunch, we were given presentations on other aspects of the business, including procurement and marketing, commercial customer analysis, and an overview of their stores and future plans.

Learning Outcomes

During our visit the Axminster Tools & Machinery, we covered the following content:

• How an inventive picking system improves efficiency
• How marketing is changing to accommodate for social media presence and mobile browsing
• Implementing Account systems using a variety of aspects can result in mutual benefits for both Axminster and its clients
• Courses are an effective marketing tool and help demonstrate the value that Axminster place on customer care.