A commitment to merchants

‘An aco’ is often used on work sites and online to describe any channel drain, whoever the manufacturer. But what makes genuine ACO products stand out, and how does the supplier support merchants? In this second part of his two-part series, Angus Crichton, ACO’s House and Garden Marketing Manager, outlines the firm’s values and commitment to quality.

I joined ACO in early 2023, new to construction but learning fast. Three experienced members of our merchant-facing team, who together have close to a century’s worth of combined experience, guided me early on and shared their wisdom about the merchant marketplace. They taught me that ACO’s success depends on merchants’ selling ACO products.

Stock security

Contractors juggle multiple challenges and, if a key item isn’t in stock at the merchant, work schedules and profits can go south. Global events have ruthlessly exposed supply chain fragility in recent years.

Not just a supplier of drainage products, ACO is a UK manufacturer. We have factories in Bedfordshire, work with UK-based partners and draw on the strength of the ACO Group’s factories, particularly in mainland Europe.

In 2023, the business opened its £13 million new logistics centre with 141,000 square feet of storage. This investment shows ACO’s long-term commitment to merchants, making sure we have sufficient stock in our yard, so you have stock in yours. Our customer service team aims for a 3-5 day turnaround and proactively ensure the right products are delivered.

A recent example happened when one of the team noticed a merchant’s order contained incompatible products. She contacted the merchant to confirm and correct the error. This intervention avoided the merchant reordering, while their customer’s installation proceeded smoothly with compatible products.

Margin mindset

Margins are tight due to rising costs and cautious spending. When a merchant stocks ACO, they have at their disposal a comprehensive range to meet every budget. From ACO HexDrain and Easyline H50 at entry level, to Threshold Drain and HexDrain Brickslot, through to high-end RainDrain Brickslot B 125 and Complete the Look gratings, there are corresponding margin opportunities.

In addition, each ACO channel system comes with a range of accessories which allow for strong upselling opportunities. For example, pairing premium gratings with porcelain paving is a clear upselling opportunity that increases the merchant’s margin.

“Contractors juggle multiple challenges and, if a key item isn’t in stock at the merchant, work schedules and profits can go south.”

Range reach

I described in Part One of this two-part series how ACO has a channel drain for every site. With every scheme different in its own way, stockists can offer tailored drainage solutions from the company’s comprehensive range to accommodate a range of water volumes, load classes and surface finishes.

In turn, this means they can help their customers tackle the unique challenges they face, rather than go for a one-size-fits-all approach which, in reality will not yield the best results.

The reach of the range also allows segmentation of the market, so stock and promotions can be tailored to the customer base of each branch: core range for standard markets; premium range for higher end.

Product performance

Nearly 80 years of engineering design and manufacturing quality lie behind an ACO product. That heritage shapes the channels merchants buy and sell. For example, channel profiles promote self-cleaning and guarantee anchoring. Grates clip securely without the need for bolts that can rust over time but can be readily removed for cleaning. Multiple outlets recognise on-site connection realities, complemented by accessories to contain and clean rainwater effectively.

All ACO products undergo rigorous independent testing. As a result, they carry CE or UKCA marks, confirming compliance with BS EN 1433:2002 standards for load class, watertightness, and traffic resistance, backed up by a Declaration of Performance certificate. Our Design Services Team are available to merchants’ customers to advise on drainage design and the most effective way of using ACO’s products. Our channels are backed by engineering excellence, independent testing and certified quality.

Support for success

The firm’s area sales managers support merchants directly. This is what a staff member at one merchant shared about his ACO sales manager: “He was fantastic and very knowledgeable — knew his onions and I could leave him to engage with customers. We were just wrapping up and a customer asked me about ACO HexDrain Pro. He was right on it, engaging with the customer.”

Our team of Regional Sales Engineers convert site drawings into lists of products to be placed with merchants. ACO’s dedicated Merchant Trainer, Adam Donnaloia (pictured below), offers training on ACO products to merchants either in-store or online.

In addition, the business provides full marketing support, including POS materials. In my role as marketing manager, I support merchants’ in-house marketing teams as they create brochures, webpages and promotions for ACO’s products to drive sales and build success.

Sustainability Leadership

The only future is a sustainable one and so ACO leads in this area. The green recycled logo in the ACO Product Guide and Brochure readily identify products manufactured with recycled content, such as the HexDrain range.

However, sustainability is more than recycled content, it is the entire length of the supply chain — from raw materials entering a factory through to the product arriving in the merchant’s yard. ACO has made firm commitments to lower its ecological footprint in manufacturing, supply chains, and product use. One example is altering pallet quantities to reduce transport emissions and packaging when goods are shipped to merchants.

My mentors taught me about ACO’s commitment to the merchant marketplace: a UK-manufacturing base with strengthened logistics capacity to deliver stock security; a comprehensive range of high-performance tested and certified products; support for merchant success and leading on sustainability.

With a genuine ACO product, comes ACO’s values and commitment to quality.

Click here for further information on ACO’s support for merchants.