Author: Laura Craddock, General Manager Services & Solutions, HAYLEY DEXIS
When I first walked through the door 15 years ago, I was just 20 years old and looking for a proper job for just 12 months, enough time to save up before heading to university. Little did I know that I was walking into a place that would shape my entire career, and that a business truly built on people would be the reason I stayed.
Where My Journey Started
I started as a typical office junior in a division that no longer exists, HIS or Hayley Industrial Supplies. Immediately, I was handed the most important task of becoming chief brew maker, taking the task very seriously, I became immersed in the making of the tea rounds; before long becoming a resident expert in all things hot drinks. Let’s also not forget about the famous job known as ’doing the yellows’ – organising a towering stack of 3 part pick tickets/PODs and asked to file in some semblance of order.. a quick task that went on for 3 years! As tough as the learning curve was, I was not prepared for what came next, which seems to be a rite of passage for early HAYLEY DEXIS team members – the dreaded stock take.
Now, remember that this was all new to me; I didn’t even know what a stock take was. We shut up shop at 4 p.m. and stayed until 11 p.m., then came in for 12 hours on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday. There were no barcodes or locations. We paired up with warehouse team members who simply knew where everything was. It was cold, and who knew there were 4000 different types of screwdrivers and sockets, because I certainly didn’t. It was grueling, but as anyone will attest, it’s that early hard work and knowing the products that set you up with the knowledge as your career develops and a respect for every person on your team. It’s also true that the success of HAYLEY DEXIS today is very much built on the hard work we all put in as a team, from apprentice to leadership.
Changing Track: My Time In Rail
After six months, I moved to the rail side of the office, starting with credits and returns. Everything was manual; I used to file thousands of printed invoices every month. We were a small team, maybe eight of us, but we were a tight bunch that worked hard.
The big change came when we were awarded a massive TfL contract. One of our first big projects was taking 33,500 different parts for TfL and figuring out how to barcode, label, and automate the process. We even created a font in Excel so we could convert part numbers into barcodes for vending machines. We went from faxes to automation in 12 months. We had no idea how big the contract would become, but we figured it out together, and boy, was it the start of a big future in rail.
What Do You Want to Be?
My real turning point came a few years in, when Ben Noakes (now Managing Director), sat me down and asked the simple question: “What do you want to be?” Without hesitation, I said, “I want to be you, Ben. I want to be the TfL Contract Manager running the biggest contract Hayley has.”
The journey wasn’t easy. I was promoted to Customer Service Supervisor, which was a challenge, managing people who had taught me the ropes. But I rose to the challenge, as I wanted the career, and I was proud to “bleed blue” for Hayley, now red, of course. My memories of that time are of a close team that operated the ‘Hayley Way’; it’s tough to explain what that is, but it’s about putting the customer first; finding that solution for them because you understand the importance it holds for them – even if that means driving one single bolt down to 200 miles London.
Eventually, I was made Customer Service Manager, and two years later, I achieved my goal of becoming the TfL Contract Manager. I remember Dave Taylor introducing me at my first big TfL meeting, telling them what I’d said to Ben years earlier. It was a very proud moment.
The Covid Pandemic
None of us could have forecast what 2020 would bring, with Coronavirus impacting everything about our lives. Before I knew it, I had become a key worker as we all worked hard to protect everyone and keep industry and transport moving. Having expanded into the PPE market just a few years before, we could not have foreseen how much that our stockholding of critical PPE would support people across the industry in the UK.
After this frantic period, we made the momentous move to Oldbury to create a large rail division. I was part of the team responsible for setting up the building, the processes, and the stock movements, and I ended up running both the TfL contract and the Customer Service team. It was the best and yet the most chaotic time.
Junior to General Manager
After 12 years in the Rail division – I took a side step to learn the wider business, their operations, the best practices and pass on my own knowledge of Hayley systems as a Business System Trainer for the next 18 months even dabbling in warehousing and logistics for a short period – an area of the business that was new to me.
My new role is General Manager of Service and Solutions alongside the wonderful Mark Law, where I’ve helped build another strong team with the processes and systems required to deliver the best value-added services to all of our customers nationwide, including our smartVEND offering, where we really can, go above and beyond.
Over the years, I embraced every opportunity across the MRO business, whether in administration, operations, customer service or contract management, each role has taught me something new and shaped the leader I am today. By stepping into different areas of the company, I gained a deep understanding of how the business works from the ground up. Every challenge became a chance to grow, and every experience added to my confidence and capability. Rising through the ranks wasn’t just about hard work; it was about staying curious, adaptable, and committed to learning. Today, as General Manager, I lead with the knowledge and perspective earned through that journey, and I hope my story inspires others to believe that starting small can lead to something extraordinary.
The Company’s 50-year milestone is a testament to the hard-working people who built this company from the ground up, and I am immensely proud to be one of them.
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