2. SYNDICATE MERCHANDISNG SOLUTIONS WAS FOUNDED IN 2000 AND HAS GROWN AND
STRENGTHENED OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS .WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN THE QUALITY OF OUR SERVICES
TO BOTH SUPPLIER AND RETAIL CHAIN .
PRIOR TO SMS I EXPERIENCED RETAIL FROM STORE LEVEL AS WELL AS FROM THE SUPPLY SIDE OF THE
BUSINESS.I DID MY MANAGEMENT TRAINING WITH WOOLWORTHS AND LATER WORKED AT I & J AS A
REP. I THEN MOVED TO THE HARDWARE SIDE OF THE BUSINESS ,WORKING FOR WISPECO .
WHEN HOME WAREHOUSE WAS STARTED ,I WAS APPROACHED TO MANAGE THE INHOUSE
MERCHANDISING .THE COMPANY UNDER WHICH MORE THAN 50 SUPPLIERS FELL, WAS CALLED
WIZZARDS . IT WAS A HUGE LEARNING CURB AND WAS A GREAT SUCCESS .UNFORTUNATELY THIS
ENDED WHEN HOME WAREHOUSE LIQUIDATED. FROM THI S I MOVED ON TO SMS WITH RONA
RONA WORKED AS A TEACHER FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND ALSO MANAGED HER OWN SPEECH &
DRAMA BUSINESS.SHE PRODUCED A NUMBER OF STAGE PRODUCTIONS AND FUNCTIONS .
BETWEEN US WE HAD THE EXPERIENCE IN RETAIL AND STAFF MANAGEMENT TO START AND GROW
S.M.S .OUR BUSINESS HAS GROWN FROM A BASE OF 4 STAFF AND 2 SUPPLIERS ,TO 75 STAFF AND 12
SUPPLIERS.THROUGH NECCESSITY WE HAVE BOUGHT OUT OWN PREMISES AND A FLEET OF VEHICLES AS
WELL AS HEAD HUNTING THE STAFF WE FELT COULD ADD VALUE TO S.M.S . OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE
SEEN MAJOR CHANGES IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS AND HAVE BEEN OPEN TO CHANGE WHERE
NECCESSARY.
3. 1) I.B.McINTYRE - HARDWARE , SECURITY AND HOME DECOR
2) STANLEY BLACK & DECKER – HAND TOOLS ,POWER TOOLS , AUTOMOTIVE AND HOUSE WARES
3) HAWK – ELECTRICAL , PAINT AND HARD WARE
4) PERMOSEAL - HARDWARE AND STATIONARY
5) WYNNS – AUTOMOTIVE
6) LEGEND –HOUSE WARES
7) GRAKIM – GROCERIES
8) WOODOC – PAINT
9) ST GOBAINS – OUT DOOR
10) BSLA – POOL
11) FLIPFILE - STATIONARY
12) ADVACARE – CHILDREN/ BABY ACCESSORIES
4. DUE TO THE ENORMITY OF SOUTH AFRICA IT IS DIFFICULT TO MANAGE MERCHANDISERS IN THE
PROVINCES OUTSIDE OF THE OLD TRANSVAAL AREA. TO ENSURE OPTIMAL COVERAGE AND PROPER
MANAGEMENT OF STAFF , S.M.S HAS ADOPTED A SYNDICATION OF SORTS .
WE ARE LINKED TO OTHER AGENTS IN AREAS THAT WE HAVE A PROBLEM GETTING TO. THIS HAS
WORKED WELL DUE TO A NUMBER OF REASONS .
1) RELATIONSHIPS AT HEAD OFFICES AND STORES ,IS STRONGER DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF VISITS
/CALLS TO THE RELEVANT OUTLET GROWING THE RELATIONSHIP AND TRUST BASE.
2) COSTS ARE KEPT TO A MINIMUM AS THERE IS LITTLE REASON TO TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THE BASE
PROVINCE.
3) STAFF ARE PROPERLY MANAGED BY THE PARTICULAR AGENT WHO IS HANDS ON 24/7 AS OPPOSED
TO A HEAD OFFICE A LONG WAY OFF .
4) UNDERSTANDING OF THE REGION AND ITS DIFFERENCES ARE COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO THE AREA
BASED PERSONS .
5) HIRING AND LETTING GO ARE EASIER AND TIMEOUS DUE TO BEING ON HAND DURING THE DECISION
MAKING
6) DECISIONS NEEDED TO BE MADE AS A MATTER OF URGENCY CAN BE TAKEN CARE OF.
7) SHOULD A CLIENT BE UNHAPPY WITH THE MERCHANDISING IN A PARTICULAR AREA , THE AGENT
CAN BE CHANGED WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE OTHER PROVINCES.
8) OVERHEADS ARE MINIMALISED AS EACH AGENT DOES NOT NEED AN INFRASTRUCTURE OTHER THAN
THEIR HOME BASE.
9) WITH STAFFING SPLIT INTO 6 DIFFERENT AREAS UNDER DIFFERENT COMPANIES ,IT WOULD BE
DIFFICULT TO UNIONISE.
