Rhian McNelis, Direct Desk Manager & Denbigh Site Manager

Department: Customer Service

"My role day to day involves managing the Denbigh site and the Customer Services Team. It keeps me busy and I really enjoy the variety and responsibility that the role brings."

Denbigh Mill

“I first started working in the office at Denbigh back in 1987. The mill had been opened earlier in the year and I was working for UAM an agricultural merchant which were part of the Unilever Group. I continued working at the mill office in various roles including pricing, customer services and bulk scheduling until 2007 when I left the company to relocate with my husband to London on a secondment.”

“In the summer of 2009, Denbigh mill ceased production and in 2013 was demolished. However the large warehouse and office remained.”

“I returned to the business in 2011 and excitingly a new venture was on the horizon for Denbigh. The site is now a customer bag collection point and if you haven’t been, we have a large warehouse and store. We stock compound feed and fertilizer for the local farmers and have a wide range of products for smallholder and equine customers. We also stock the Marsden’s Prestige Dog food range and distribute it across the north and east of the UK.”

“ForFarmers has continued to support and invest in the site, in fact recently we had a bulk bin installed and as a result we are now able to store and split bulk products. With the new bin we are able to allocate the product into one tonne and half tonne totes. These have been really well received by our customers.”

Delivering great customer service

“My role today involves managing the Denbigh site and the Customer Services Team. It keeps me busy and I really enjoy the variety and responsibility that the role brings. The Customer Services Team look after both ruminant and game feed orders for North Wales. We also help out with overflow calls from Carmarthen which works well as the Ruminant Sales Manager looks after the whole of Wales.”

“The aim of the team is to provide excellent customer service and I personally think the team does an excellent job. They are knowledgeable, polite, organised and always think ahead and as a result dissolve any potential issues. Our customers are really grateful for the care in helping them organise their feed requirements in such a professional manner.”

Continue to remain open

“As ForFarmers provides essential feed for animals, we have been able to stay open during the Coronavirus outbreak. Of course this involved a lot of logistics and new procedures but here at Denbigh we have been able to continue our collection service for local customers."

"To keep our employees and customers safe, we adhere to the 2m social distancing rules and ask customers to stay in their vehicles whilst we load their products. This has allowed us to operate this service safely and it’s been vital for some of our customers."

"We have a really loyal customer base and we all come together to help one another. Going that extra mile makes such a difference.”

“Previously customers would just turn up and collect products on the day, but now in these uncertain times we are finding customers are calling ahead to check availability, order or pay. This has increased calls into both the store and customer service team. Thank you to Delyth and Lowri who have been working from home and Lynda and Nerys who have been working in the store. Together they have been answering customer phone calls and coordinating stock and deliveries.”

Game feed

Afbeelding: Marsdens A4 brochure cover 17

“I am also the National Game Feed Co-ordinator and due to its seasonality, it mainly keeps me busy from April through to September. ForFarmers manufactures game feed at three manufacturing sites which are spread across the UK. As the Co-ordinator I have to keep a close eye on the production and bag stock.”

“Recently I have been working closely with the Supply and Operations departments. We have been busy planning the supply of game feed for this season, taking into account internal changes such as staffing and new ways of working plus the impact that Covid-19 is having on the industry. It’s a difficult and uncertain time but we are trying to rationally make the best decisions for our customers and the safety of our employees.”

Innovative IT

“ForFarmers has invested heavily in our IT infrastructure and these systems give us great visibility and data that drive decisions."

"There are always improvement projects going on across the company and this advances our ways of working and efficiency. Over the 30 years so much has changed, especially my IT skills.”

One family

“Every day is different and I’m very lucky to have a brilliant team. In total we have eight members of staff who work at Denbigh. ForFarmers has been very accommodating and some individual’s job share. We have all been working together for many years and it’s like one big family.”

“Recently we have had a new starter Shannon Frangos, who joined us in April. Like many of us, Shannon’s role involves working with both the customer services team and the store admin team. Training a new starter whilst 2 meters apart has been a bit challenging, let’s just say you need good eyesight to do so. Encouragingly ForFarmers has continued to honour new starters despite the current environment. ”

“In the last couple of years three of our team members have received long service awards and this highlights that we have a very happy and stable team here.”