PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
RECYCLING
29
FLP Solutions
partners with
its customers,
stock-holding
what they
need, ensuring
full control of
every aspect
of the supply
chain.
The Middlewich-based firm
specialises in supplying refurbished
(and new) printers, parts and
IT equipment to resellers, IT
maintenance companies and
organisations nationwide.
It started trading in 2001 and quickly
established itself as a major player in the
IT spares industry, initially supplying IT
maintenance companies with refurbished
IT hardware items, in particular HP laptop
parts.
“We then diversified to sell both new
and refurbished laser printers, MFPs and
printer parts, again mainly HP. But we
now also offer many other leading brands’
desktop PC and server spares,” explained
Business Development Manager Andrew
Cartwright.
FLP Solutions buys in redundant IT
and print hardware, strips the kit down
completely, thoroughly cleans everything
and repairs any broken parts before putting
products and parts up for resale. The
company maintains that there is no such
thing as ‘obsolete’, promising to source
any specific piece of IT hardware requested
by individual customers, as well as helping
them to dispose of that equipment and
upgrade to the latest kit when it’s time to
change.
Cartwright said: “With ever increasing
pressure on profitability, having the
opportunity to lower the cost of
maintaining IT equipment and printer fleets
by utilising refurbished spare parts is an
attractive proposition for our customer
base.
“In addition, supplying refurbished
printers over new ones enables them to
offer a lower cost and ‘greener’ solution
to customers for whom cost and carbon
savings are key drivers. In the main, a
refurbished device costs between 30 and
50% less than when new.”
Same day delivery
The firm has grown year-on-year and
its headcount now totals 24, ten of
whom are engineers. The company has
expanded both the business premises and
its warehousing capacity and today has
a 12,000 sq. ft. custom-built warehouse
that houses some 60,000 items, all of
which are available for urgent same day or
next business day delivery. FLP Solutions
partners with its customers, stock-holding
what they need, ensuring full control of
every aspect of the supply chain.
“Reducing spend and inventory whilst
maintaining high service levels and quality
is a non-negotiable for our customers,
which is why, as a trusted business
The WEEE Directive, which sets targets for
the recovery and recycling of ten categories
of electrical and electronic equipment, has
done much to reduce the amount of e-waste
that ends up in landfill. By giving a second
life to products that would otherwise become
e-waste so too has FLP Solutions.
A second life
partner, quality is front and centre for us,”
Cartwright said.
ISO accreditation
The company has built up a quality
assured supplier base that has been tried
and tested. Its quality promise is backed
up by three ISO accreditations – ISO
9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001. Quality
management meetings with departmental
heads are held every month to discuss
quality and processes, ensuring ongoing
compliance.
The firm has also invested heavily in its
packaging facilities, using memory foam
and airbags to ensure that every order gets
to its destination safely. This has resulted
in a record low of 0.04% of returns due to
inadequate or poor packaging.
Its overall returns rate is equally
impressive, currently sitting at less than
1%, way below the industry standard of
3-5%, according to Cartwright’s estimate.
“Customer returns have improved year-on-
year and that’s a key area of focus for us,”
he said.
He added: “We pride ourselves on
meeting our customer promise, which is
to ensure the right equipment is where it
needs to be, on time and in good working
order – that’s critical to our customers’
business. That’s why we are open ‘til late
every day and guarantee to ship orders
overnight. All our products also come with
a three-month guarantee, which provides
an extra layer of assurance.”
FLP Solutions
