Business Gateway helps supply chain business advance its operations 

About the business

Exporta launched in 2001 and provides transport, storage and racking solutions for a variety of industries including food, beauty, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.

How Business Gateway has helped

Exporta has a longstanding relationship with Business Gateway, first engaging with the service in 2019. As supply chains continued to be under intense pressure throughout 2022, post covid-19, Exporta got back in touch with Business Gateway for help in developing a strategic response to the growing demands within the industry such as increased shipping costs and availability of containers on ships.

The business received 1:1 support from Business Gateway adviser Andrew Webster, who guided them through a strategic review and helped identify and explore opportunities such as new ‘plastic wood’ manufacturing operations, to help improve its response to the industry demands on supply chains.

Business Gateway also provided expert advice on marketing, further assisting the growth of the business through the implementation of HubSpot which has been integrated with the website, allowing the sales team greater visibility of the pipeline. This will also lead to full website integration with the Exporta’s ERP system, allowing orders to run seamlessly from the website with no manual interaction.

Following the strategic review, Exporta were introduced to a wider network of organisations such as Scottish Enterprise who advised on innovation and product development support. As a result, Exporta developed their digital tools and added new technologies to their distribution centre, to further test and demonstrate how their products work for customers in real-life scenarios. Additionally, they developed their intellectual property and optimised their operations by installing new machinery, including an in-house product branding machine and a pallet load test rig. This expanded offering will help their customers promote their own brand, reduce losses, and guarantee the compatibility of supply systems.

Shona Laing, Head of Business Services & Executive Assistant at Exporta, said: "We have worked with Business Gateway for a number of years, and it has always been a source of encouragement. One of the biggest benefits of working with the service is the knowledge and access to specialists we would otherwise struggle to identify. This proved evident when we implemented a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in 2017. Business Gateway guided us through the whole process, from determining the parameters of the system to development and implementation.  

“Most recently, the strategic review has allowed us to confidently optimise our operations and turn our focus to growing our business. We have also, through our skills audit, been able to prioritise our employees and their development and are now working with Auditel to take our first steps towards being carbon neutral. We would highly recommend Business Gateway to anyone operating in Scotland, it is a fantastic resource to have on our doorstep.”