Dealer Excellence - Don Ruffles
In 2005, Michael and Tracey Knight acquired traditional office supplies dealer, Don Ruffles Limited, then quickly embraced the internet, launching their flagship specialist trading website, https://www.shreddingmachines.co.uk/, which grew rapidly and now stands as the UK's largest supplier of commercial shredders online, generating over £40 million in sales. This proprietary web trading platform expanded to include Security Safes, Office Machines & Consumables, Office Furniture, Office Supplies, and, post-COVID, PPE Workwear & Packaging/Warehousing products.
Despite having just 8 employees, Ruffles has independently developed several unique add on initiatives including unique price scraping software to determine competitive selling prices to help win the ‘buy box’. They've also integrated a Product Information Management System for the automatic upload and maintenance of products, potentially allowing the addition of over 1 million products without the need to expand personal. With an annual turnover of £4-£5 million, Ruffles has established itself as a leader in the industry.
When the COVID pandemic struck, Ruffles acted swiftly, and launched their new PPE website, https://theppeonlineshop.co.uk/, generating over £1.5m sales of lateral flow tests and social distancing products, resulting in record annual sales.
As lockdown restrictions eased and 'covid' PPE sales declined, Ruffles adapted by forging partnerships with two 'traditional' PPE workwear suppliers, and very quickly are winning up to 100 workwear orders a day. Accompanied by promising repeat business and increasing average order values, Ruffles continue to expand product ranges in this interesting market and soon will adding an online product ‘logo branding’ facility, to meet evolving demands.
The past year saw Ruffles unveil two redesigned platform trading websites supplying office machines/consumables, and furniture & related products. The furniture website has several advanced functions, one allowing customers to ‘virtually’ build their perfect requirements, where a ‘base unit’ can have various features added whilst images and prices change real time: https://www.furniturerunner.com/product/Eclipse-III-Lever-Task-Operator-Chair.html?sku=KCUP0864
Ruffles company's dual shortlisting for the eBusiness & Dealer Excellence BOSS Awards 2023 is a major milestone validating our dedication to develop unique and customer focused websites. It recognizes our hard work and innovation, affirming our success. This distinction opens doors for us, allowing us to showcase our accomplishments, set ourselves apart from traditional competitors, and bolster our reputation as industry leaders.
The BOSS Awards' recognition doesn't just end there. It's a beacon for potential clients, partners, and investors who prioritize excellence and innovation, potentially expanding our horizons. Moreover, the shortlisting serves as a morale booster for our exceptional team, underscoring our commitment to delivering outstanding results. It's a testament that our efforts are not in vain and a driving force to continue striving for excellence.
In essence, our inclusion in the BOSS Awards 2023 shortlist carries tremendous importance in terms of recognition and exposure.At Ruffles, our relentless passion is to create highly functional, user-friendly websites that showcase interesting and relevant products to help make customers purchasing decisions as easy as possible to yield long-term rewards. Instead of opting for off-the-shelf website packages, we carve our unique path, leveraging our SEO expertise to secure prime search engine positions, normally surpassing manufacturers, and global resellers. An example of our enhanced product content: https://theppeonlineshop.co.uk/Bizflame-Ultra-Jacket-Orange.html
We have, in tandem with our price and products upload and maintenance tools, added unique algorithms, an example of which, automatically shows similar products with defined features to customers with higher £ margin return. With our expert web partner, Chrave Technology Ruffles embraces all cutting-edge Google Advertising techniques, and are currently implementing an AI based email marketing platform with machine learning capabilities to uncover new markets and seize new opportunities.
In summary, Don Ruffles is uniquely independent, experienced, skilled, and highly agile.
