Ben Shackleton Email and Phone Number

I am currently managing the distribution for one of the most successful and reputable independent Home & Garden Centres in the UK, with a strong emphasis placed on quality customer service. I also play a growing key role in the warehousing and logistics. I have worked my way through many roles within the business, which has given me a well rounded understanding of many business operations.

Throughout this role I worked closely with a highly experienced and successful entrepreneur which vastly improved my knowledge and experiences within the garden furniture industry. I was involved in every aspect of building a new and innovative brand in the garden furniture industry, in which we both imported our independently developed and manufactured products, or sourced existing products, for our wide range of customers. I was heavily involved in developing and sourcing innovative garden furniture to sell to numerous industries, including: trade, interior designers, retailers and anything in between. This involved critical decision making and problem solving, market research, forecasting, sourcing overseas suppliers, importing, currency investment and forecasting, contacting and meeting with potential customers, marketing, administration, pricing, negotiating, and many other aspects of running a business. One of the most valuable and enjoyable experiences I gained from this job was traveling to Vietnam and China on numerous occasions to source and meet with multiple factories to develop innovative products, negotiate, conduct quality control and build relationships with our manufacturers. I was involved in every aspect of the product development and work closely with customers and the factories. This enabled us to have close control over the quality of products that we imported. This helped us to build a large network of global manufacturers, stockists and customers within the industry whilst building our expertise.

As part of my Degree, I undertook a 9 week placement at the Newcastle United Foundation, situated in St James Park. Throughout this experience I worked closely with the marketing manager and gained valuable knowledge and experience in market research, marketing communications and developing marketing tools in a professional environment. I helped to set up and organise a large charity event which raised thousands of pounds and had numerous celebrities attending.

Whilst at university I took this part time job. During this job I operated the telephones to call people at random to either carry out market research questions or opinion polls (e.g. for political parties or businesses). This enabled me to develop my communication skills, as I often had to explain questions to people or try to convince them to give me 10 – 45 minutes of their time, or defuse angry customers. This experience also made me accustomed to having to meet specific targets in a high pressure environment.

Whilst at school and sixth form, I worked part time at a restaurant, where I was in charge of the starter kitchen. My role was to ensure that all orders were met on time and to a high standard, under the high intensity and pressure of a restaurant kitchen. This involved preparing food, close team working, maintaining cleanliness of the kitchen and other day to day running tasks.