Insight: How HAYLEY DEXIS onsite teams are driving operational resilience for manufacturers across the UK

As industrial supply specialist HAYLEY DEXIS approaches 60 locations across the UK with an onsite presence supporting customers, Adrian Easter, group strategic contracts director, explains why Onsite Solutions are so important for many in the industry and how HAYLEY DEXIS differs in its approach and the outcomes it delivers to support customer needs.

Manufacturers are facing significant pressures at the moment: excessive ‘bank vault’ levels of inventory, the need to drive efficiencies beyond traditional inventory management, ongoing cost pressures, supply chain complexities, and rising wage and National Insurance costs. These challenges focus attention on one critical issue – money tied up in inventory.

Money sitting in inventory

Inventory is often managed very differently from other high-value assets. If a business had a bank vault containing £2m, it would do everything possible to protect, leverage, and manage it. Yet inventory, which can have the same or greater value, isn’t always given the same consideration.

We recently encountered a store holding £7m in goods, of which 70% hadn’t moved in five years. That’s nearly £5m of working capital at risk of being written off unless we have a solution to keep the stock moving and valuable. Business leaders are increasingly recognising that unmanaged inventory represents trapped cash – capital that could otherwise support a far leaner, more resilient operation.

It’s this that creates the need or demand for an Onsite Solution. Quite simply, a HAYLEY DEXIS onsite team member really is worth their weight in gold – around £9m at today’s rates. Gold rates aside, our onsite teams use an in-house system, Track Up, to demonstrate how we can support in saving these millions.

So, what is an Onsite Solution?

An Onsite Solution provides dedicated support to a customer’s manufacturing facility, going well beyond the traditional trade counter route to market. Think of it like having your own personal MRO expert focused solely on you, with the full strength of the branch network behind them, helping reduce factory downtime and drive cost savings.

When customers first look at an onsite setup, from my experience, the starting point is often simple: regain control of inventory and reduce stock levels by leveraging our local branches. But in reality, that’s just the beginning.

An Onsite Solution becomes a strategic lever for continuous improvement, efficiency and productivity – especially for organisations operating under sustained economic pressure. In 2025, I made the decision to put our regional team through the Lean Six Sigma programme, to be more aligned with industry needs and, more importantly, to talk the same language. An integrated approach is the only way to fully unlock these operational and financial benefits.

By embedding our team directly into the customer’s operation, we become an extension of their business. That means faster response to breakdowns, immediate support on the ground, and significantly reduced downtime — helping to avoid repeat failures before they happen.

What sets HAYLEY DEXIS apart

Our Onsite Solutions are differentiated by the combination of our supply framework, technical expertise, and nationwide branch network. We provide full support through a nationwide system to ensure expertise, supply, and resources are always available when needed. Our core values – stock, service, and people – enable us to work seamlessly with our customers to deliver the right solutions, at the right time, with minimal disruption.

A true 360-degree MRO solution

And our service doesn’t stop there. Our service extends well beyond inventory management. We work closely with our customers through a complete 360-degree MRO solution through value-added services. For example, through targeted energy surveys, pneumatic assessments, and compressed air leak surveys, we identify inefficiencies that often go unnoticed but steadily inflate operating costs. All the time using Lean Six Sigma methodology.

Our engineers combine rapid data collection with fast turnaround engineering solutions, ensuring improvements can be implemented without unnecessary disruption. We recognise that no two operations are the same, so our approach is flexible, often tailored to the specific needs of each business.

Just as importantly, our service and product teams deliver deep technical expertise with immediate access to 24/7 engineering support, all underpinned by the scale, resilience, and reach of our nationwide branch network. Our in-house team challenges the status quo, brings ideas to the table, and leads improvement projects that deliver real, measurable results. As mentioned previously, our bespoke Track Up system uses analysis to prove time and cost savings to add value for the customer.

Looking forward

As we move into 2026, 2027 and beyond, I predict more businesses will look to unlock the full value of inventory management and drive ongoing performance improvements, with HAYLEY DEXIS Onsite Solutions continuing to play a bigger role in how operations are supported.

The real differentiator, however, won’t be whether an onsite model is in place, but the partner chosen to deliver it. As with the bank vault analogy at the start, success depends on having the right people, backed by a strong local connection and proven processes that reduce risk to ensure a smooth, well-managed transition.

Done properly, an onsite solution isn’t just a change in how inventory is managed — it’s a long-term partnership that delivers control, resilience, and measurable value. And that’s exactly how we approach it.

For manufacturers focused on reducing costs and improving productivity, find out more here: HAYLEY DEXIS Onsite Solutions.