The twofold question of trust: Why Brodos AG supplies specialist retailers by express delivery

Combined express service for parcels and pallets from a single source increases flexibility, speeds up delivery and reduces the damage rate

Customers who trust their retailer or supplier buy more from them. But how can a wholesaler increase the trust of the specialist retailers he supplies to and how can they in turn increase the trust of their customers? Brodos AG, one of the largest mobile phone distributors in Germany, has found an amazing answer to these questions. It reads: Boost trust with express delivery by trans-o-flex. This is why Brodos has been offering specialist retailers guaranteed next-day delivery of all orders since June 2018. Brodos trusts completely in the Next Day Guarantee service from trans-o-flex. “If delivery is not made by the next day, we will refund the retailers their shipping charges,” says Florian Stubenhofer, Supply Chain Manager at Brodos. trans-o-flex boss Wolfgang P. Albeck adds: “So that neither Brodos nor trans-o-flex have to refund the express price, our quality is doubly important here.” For Albeck this is also because: “Other interested parties are looking closely at how our service for Brodos is developing. And word will also spread amongst retailers as to whether or not trans-o-flex can always live up its Brodos promise.”

Express delivery connects the online and offline world

For Brodos, choosing the express service is a strategic decision. With this choice, the company is looking to set itself apart from the competition. For Brodos, the service promise is a further step in the omni-channel concept of networked stores it has been pursuing for years. The basis is the system platform brodos.net, which was developed by the company itself. This enables a networked store to offer its customers goods from huge multimedia catalogue systems both in shops and online. The offer combines locally available products with the available ranges of leading distributors and specialist wholesalers. Stubenhofer: “Our aim is to make online shopping a regional matter in future, with customers benefitting from the combination of both channels – online and offline.”

Fast and guaranteed next-day delivery is a key element of this strategy. “This is the only way our retailers can compete with the delivery offerings of pure online platforms,” ​​says Stubenhofer. Decisive factors for awarding the express contract to trans-o-flex, however, were the low damage rate and the option of combining goods in parcels with those on pallets. “In the past, we only used trans-o-flex for palletised goods. We have been testing their combi-freight service very thoroughly and extensively since October 2017. And we have seen how this service makes our shipping much more flexible and faster with zero damage rate.”

Speed and reliability for high-end and sensitive goods

For trans-o-flex, Brodos is a particularly important customer, not least because the wholesale specialist for mobile phone products is one of the core target groups. “This constitutes an important strengthening of our electronics division, or rather of our high-end sensitive goods,” says Albeck. “That’s why we are all the more pleased that Brodos has recognised the added value of our express solutions and is thus intelligently integrating them into its offering. This will strengthen regional retailers throughout Germany, as it greatly enhances the shopping experience of local customers. What is not available in the shop will be delivered by the next day.”

Brodos sends out several thousand consignments every month using the Next Day Guarantee service. “With such a high volume, something can go wrong on all sides,” says Stubenhofer. “But we are very satisfied because in the very first month we achieved an actual next-day delivery rate of around 99%.”

About Brodos:

More than 400 million euros in sales of sensitive mobile phone products

Founded in 1991, Brodos AG is one of Germany’s largest mobile communications distributors. Headquartered in Baiersdorf in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, the company employs around 450 people and has annual sales of more than 400 million euros. Its customers range from small mobile communications shops, to large consumer electronics stores, to the heavyweights in the e-commerce branch, as well as more than half of all companies listed on the German stock exchange. Brodos is the official partner of leading manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG and Huawei and network operators such as Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica and supplier to around 5,000 specialist retailers.