As the leading provider of freshly prepared food in the UK, their products are supplied to the UK’s leading grocery retailers and cover a range of categories including meals, desserts, pizza, bread and salads. They are known for their deep understanding of consumer food choices, and this enables them to create innovative products that set us apart from our competitors. MRMK was not their first foray into outsourcing their machine blade replacements, but their previous suppliers had failed miserably. Costs were high and the quality was poor, The Leading Provider of Fresh Prepared Food needed to find a much better long-term solution. “We needed to find a reliable, cost-effective solution for our business. We traditionally used OEM machines and their parts suppliers, and we spent a lot of money with them. When we had an opportunity to move to a third-party manufacturer, we thought it was a good opportunity to see if they had the same capabilities to supply the same high-quality blades.” Their Stock Controller told us “We don’t focus purely on cost; we need to keep the business running and if that means paying for better quality then we will. We can’t be without a production line.” The Engineering Stock Controller at the Leading Provider of Fresh Prepared Food plays a key role in keeping production running and ensuring the engineering team have everything they need. When the team needs new machine blades, they are the first person the engineers will call. “We have more than 3,000 spare parts on our shelves, when we hit a minimum quantity on any of our parts, the system alerts me, and I know instantly that new spares need to be ordered. Also, if there is a fault with a machine or blade, we need to get replacements in urgently.” It’s an important role with lots of responsibility, keeping everyone organised and on their toes across the business. The engineering department need suppliers they can trust and when the current Stock Controller joined the company over 2 years ago MRMK were already being used as a machine blade supplier and they were so impressed that they saw no reason to change. “MRMK were selected by the previous Stock Controller because they could offer the best price with the same quality.” explained the Stock Controller “We gave them the samples of the blades we needed, and they were able to perfectly replicate them for us. Now, whenever we need new blades, we come back to MRMK and ask ‘Can you replicate this?’.

“The price and quality that MRMK offer means that we no longer use OEM blades anywhere in our business.”

Stock Controller

Leading Provider of Fresh Prepared Food

The Stock Controller realised early on that the success of any machine blade supplier would not just depend on price and quality of the blades, but also on how quickly the blades would be designed, manufactured and shipped. Downtime is not an option “We can’t afford to not have replacement knives on our shelves and it’s crucial that downtime is kept to a minimum.” they told us “When I ask for a quote it comes back really quickly, I just place my order and I know when the blades are going to arrive, even when it’s a more specialised blade.” The machine knife industry is known for slow and complex ordering processes and that’s where MRMK break the mould, creating a seamless and responsive end-to-end ordering process for customers. “Customer service and speed of delivery are really important factors for us and MRMK are great at both of them,” says the Stock Controller. “We get order acknowledgements straight away and Valeria checks in on us every couple of months to ensure we are OK and that we’re happy with our stock levels. Everyone we talk to at MRMK is very supportive and responsive and a pleasure to work with and we really appreciate that. There are so many companies that you can’t even get a simple reply from and you have to keep chasing them for answers.”

The price and quality and rapid lead times that MRMK offer means that the Leading Provider of Fresh Prepared Food no longer uses OEM blades anywhere in their business. “In my role, silence is good news.” says the Stock Controller, “It’s a fast-paced environment with little time for feedback but I have never heard any complaints from our engineers about the blades MRMK supply and this speaks volumes about the quality and reliability.” The group have now built such a strong relationship with MRMK that it’s now their first port of call when a new tool arrives, and it needs new blades. “We see MRMK as our first choice for machine blades. They are always the first place we go to see if they can design and replicate any new blades. That we need for production. says the Stock Controller, “We feel that it’s an ongoing partnership that we all get great benefits from.”

“We would really struggle without MRMK as our machine knife supplier, we really appreciate the support they give us, and they play an important role in our production.”

Stock Controller

Leading Provider of Fresh Prepared Food