Since 2004, PPC has also operated in Belgium, but it is only recently that its market share in Belgium has grown spectacularly. Such was that growth that the company chose to open an office in Belgium as well, alongside existing departments not only in Wijk bij Duurstede, but also in Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Groningen, and Nieuwegein. In Wilrijk, near Antwerp, they are currently finishing this new office where Belgian professionals can order articles from the stock from 11 December.

Fully renovated premises with a showroom
Together with Danny Benschop, we consider how PPC aims to tackle various things in practice below Moerdijk. Mr Benschop started his career with the company nine years ago as a work placement trainee. In the meantime, he’s risen to become operational manager and director of the Belgian BV (private limited company). He explains how PPC approaches matters in Belgium and first of all tells us about the new offices. The premises in Wilrijk will be state-of-the-art, with a fully renovated building and a new showroom, electricity supplied by solar panels, and with LED lights. They no longer use gas here, rely solely on electric vehicles, and deploy several water pumps.

‘As a wholesaler, we didn’t have physical offices in Belgium, but we did see increasing demand from that country. Since the pandemic, we’ve also had more and more orders online,’ Danny Benschop tells us. ‘There were so many requests that we had to approach matters proactively. And so, we worked out a system to operate in Belgium as closely as possible to clients. Apart from opening a new physical office, we’ve also set up a new PIM system, a so called product information management system. This is an absolute must for a company which sells lots of products, including online. Such a PIM helps us offer clients full and consistent product information in a single platform and it includes various languages so that from now on we can also address clients in Flemish and French.’

Supermarket for professionals
One of the interventions which PPC carried out was to set up a Belgian BV, the New Flooring Group PPC Belgium. The new Belgian offices, like those in the Netherlands, will be a collection point, a sort of supermarket where floor fitters can go for all the PPC concepts and where, like in the Netherlands, they can call upon the services of a PPC Experience Centre.
Mr Benschop continues: ‘Also in the offices in Wilrijk, which will cover a surface area of about 1,000m², parquet floor fitters will find everything which they need to fit and finish a floor, from tools and personal protective equipment, oils, and lacquers to even door mats and stairs. This is a place which is designed solely for professionals and from where we supply professionals and retail chains for both residential and commercial use. The big difference will be that from now on we can also supply Belgian clients from their own country. Up until now, we’ve been travelling to both Flanders and Wallonia three days per week from Wijk bij Duurstede, but that’s changing now.’

Their own transport management system
PPC has other Ambitious plans for the Belgian office. Perhaps the most important one is that as of the first quarter of 2024 they will be operating a new transport management system. This will mean that clients in Belgium can be supplied from Wilrijk from the second quarter of 2024.
‘Until now, everything has been shipped from the headquarters in Wijk bij Duurstede, including our own vans, but now we’re going a step further. We want to put products where clients want them, and this means that from now on the stocks are coming to the Belgian office from where items will then be shipped from Belgium. This office will have the same system as that in the Netherlands. This is a place where all professionals will come and take away products. They simply walk through the store and take what they need. If they have any questions, they can ask our advisers.’

What will also be identical is that training courses will also be offered in Wilrijk. For instance, you can think of a training course in renovating stairs, fitting edging, or levelling a floor. In this way PPC also aims to be a partner to its clients in the area of knowledge share.
‘Wijk bij Duurstede is a long drive from Belgium, so we’ll also be a partner in knowledge share in Wilrijk by means of training. We’re also offering e-learning, whereby Belgian clients can find lots of information online via film clips, just as in the Netherlands. To that end surf to www.ppcbelgium.be and discover all sorts of tools. I’m thinking here, for instance, of someone looking for a subfloor, someone looking for a skirting board, or someone looking for help with stair renovation. The office itself will contain over 16,000 different products in a one-stop shopping centre for the hard flooring industry. Professional clients can also use our showroom and accompany end clients. However, end clients never see the price, so professionals can set their own prices for consumers/end clients.’

New employees wanted
Anyone who opens a new office is likely to need new employees. That’s no less the case with PPC. They’re looking for at least three new people for the office, which will open six days a week (from Mondays to Fridays from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 6.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.).
Danny Benschop concludes: ‘Amongst other things, we’re looking for an account manager, a store assistant, and an office manager. They’ll have to accept fully into our system, which is client-centred. A good example of that is our delivery and returns service, which always runs free of charge. Even if you only need one product, we deliver without carriage charges. And, for instance, if you order six skirting boards, but you only need five, we’ll collect the extra one free of charge and clients are given a credit note to cover the cost in full. Those are just two illustrations of our long-term vision!’