Richard Gilliard, CEO of Renovotec started in the IT world back in 1996, but his entrepreneurial career started from very humble beginnings as early as age 13.
Richard’s money-making activities from a young age included weekly and Sunday paper rounds and a very profitable scheme of making framed posters with images of popstars in Smash Hit Magazines to sell to girls at school.
Later in his teens, Richard set up his first official company ‘Log Cabin Hamsters Inc’. Within a year he had pretty much captured the market for breeding hamsters in West Yorkshire. From this young age, Richard quickly learned that the most successful way to make money is by offering something that customers want but can’t get elsewhere. And it was this wisdom that led Richard to set up Renovotec in 2009, which today is the UK’s fastest-growing technology solutions integrators organisation operating in warehousing, retail, and throughout the supply chain.
The road to Renovotec
Gilliard reflects on his entrepreneurial path to Renovotec: “Before Renovotec I had been working in the software industry, but I quickly identified a gap in the market when it came to hardware. Software companies were not keen on getting involved in hardware, because it was a low-margin area. This meant you had a situation where customers struggled to buy hardware from their software supplier, which presented me with an opportunity for a business. To pick up that side of the industry and offer customers what they need and get elsewhere.”
“When I started in the IT world, I gained my knowledge by working with warehouse management solutions and being very hands-on with the reality of warehouse operations. Within just a few years, I’d acquired a small warehouse management company with a very talented team of staff. We grew significantly until the financial crisis hit back in 2008/2009. Although we were financially stable, we didn’t have enough work to keep our team happy. This allowed me to utilise available resources to start Renovotec. The subsequent sale of the software house provided the funding to acquire several specialist providers in our industry so that we could cover a comprehensive range of solutions that would help meet our customer’s needs. This was how Renovotec was born.”
Building an acquisition advantage
In the fast-paced competitive world of IT growing a business through acquisitions has become more popular. But in 2009 when Renovotec launched onto the scene, this was not the case. Organic growth was the safer route to expansion. Renovotec in this respect could be considered a game changer.
Gilliard describes how the acquisition route came into fruition: “Renovotec did not set out to acquire companies for growth, but over the years when the opportunities have arisen, we have been quick to grasp them when we can. For the first few years from 2009 – 2012, Renovotec achieved steady growth but in 2012 we came across a competitor, a company named Sandpiper that appeared to offer very similar solutions. At a partner conference in 2013, that we were both attending I took the opportunity to talk to the Managing Director of Sandpiper about an exit strategy proposition whereby we were not duplicating efforts.
By the end of that evening, Renovotec had agreed in principle to buy Sandpiper. It was perhaps one of the quickest acquisitions you can imagine. We completed the due diligence and the legal processes in a matter of months, and it served as a really good platform for Renovotec to grow from. It gave us a taste for acquisitions despite not having considered them before.”
Agressive growth
Since then and over the last decade Renovotec has pursued an aggressive growth strategy, acquiring a series of companies with complementary technologies that allow Renovotec to claim a new or an enhanced stake in the market. The acquisition of industrial print specialist Datatrade in 2017 was hugely significant. This made Renovotec the market leader in industrial print support in the UK. Recent acquisitions include DigitalAir, claiming Renovotec’s stake in the next wave of Wi-Fi innovation, and Jade Solutions, expanding high-growth contactless retail dominance.
Gilliard concludes: “Our acquisition strategy has one clear objective of meeting our supply chain customers’ business needs with best-in-class technology. This is definitely paying off.”
One step ahead of customers
Putting the needs of customers above anything else and at the centre has been core to Renovotec’s strategy from the outset. Gilliard believes you cannot possibly understand or assess what the customer needs if you aren’t investing and involved in their operation. “From the outset and today I am always trying to be a step ahead of our customers, assessing and evaluating what they may need to help their business thrive, especially when macroeconomic influences are out of balance, and ideal conditions are disrupted.”
“In recent years organisations operating in warehousing, retail, and throughout the supply chain have come under extreme pressure with the combined forces of the COVID pandemic, subsequent lockdowns, and changing consumer habits across the world.”
“On top of this, we have Brexit which brought additional problems for many UK manufacturers and retailers. We too felt the impact all too intensely, experienced substantial delays, and even lost opportunities because of this move.”
“However, like our customers, we’ve had to refocus and see these problems as opportunities and have been able to position ourselves better so that we can deliver the level of service that our clients need.”
Welcoming Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)
The transformative impact of robotics is creating a buzz across the logistics sector. But Renovotec was quick and one of the first to identify the competitive advantage of robots and automation to help rejuvenate a drained supply chain industry desperate to achieve ROI. Of particular interest to Renovotec were Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) with their ability to operate without human oversight and roam free of a set path making them fit for an impressive array of tasks.
Gilliard outlines the array of benefits these intelligent machines bring to the supply chain and warehouse operations. “Automated robots never get tired, can work 24/7, and have no aversion to taking on the laborious, hazardous, and heavy-lifting work that can tire humans. Using a combination of advanced sensors, cameras, and software algorithms, they can understand their surroundings, navigate around permanent and temporary obstructions, plot the most efficient path, and carry out tasks independently.”
“Any kind of added efficiency and saved cost is important in a supply chain industry still recovering from the impact of COVID-19. Since the UK’s National Living Wage increase of 9.8% to £11.44/hour in April 2024, an already overburdened industry has found itself under even greater pressure given the high volume of employees needed in a typical distribution centre and the challenge of high staff turnover. Robots can and have quite literally, stepped in and saved the day.”
Challenges to overcome
Let’s be clear that this is not about taking the human workforce out of the equation. Gilliard presents just one example of the harmonious superpower of robots: “If we take the example of Order Picking, humans, and robots can work together as a team, further enhanced with the integration of other complementary technologies such as voice-directed technology and machine vision. The cost-saving benefits can be huge when you consider that a robot combined with voice technology can halve the number of steps taken by a typical picker in one day. When integrated into the warehouse in harmony with human workers and with other technologies, robots can deliver massive ROI and help humans do their jobs better and more efficiently.”
There are challenges of course, as Gilliard acknowledges: “The job of choosing the right AMR for your warehouse can be challenging. There are many different AMR solutions on offer, including those from traditional automation providers seeking to jump on the AMR bandwagon. Getting the right AMR solution from the outset and prioritising smooth integration with your WMS (Warehouse Management Systems) and other complementary technologies can make all the difference.”
Despite the challenges, Richard urges any warehouse operation of any size to start thinking about introducing robots into your warehouse: “AMRs can be easily and quickly integrated into existing systems and workflows to help support faster deployment without unnecessary disruption. Businesses don’t need to modify an existing environment or waste time implementing this technology but instead can benefit almost immediately. Where possible start small to learn how the solution will impact the unique elements of an operation. We have customers who have introduced robots just to manage waste, and that alone has taken one person out of the cost.”
You can’t do it alone
Renovotec is backed by an ecosystem of trusted technology partners, including Honeywell, Zebra Technologies, Ruckus Networks, and Datalogic.
Gilliard highlights that partnership and collaboration are key to providing customers with an end-to-end service: “The supply chain is interconnected and ever-changing. Adjusting to supply and demand fluctuations is complex. One vendor alone can’t offer customers working in the supply chain the full spectrum of the most cutting-edge technological tools and know-how, to ensure that they reach their revenue goals and remain competitive despite the current pressures of the industry.”
“Collaborating with partners enables us to offer everything from wireless and networking to robotics and voice picking. We can take care of the software and hardware side of things, offering slick, user-friendly devices that help businesses exceed their client’s expectations and help them grow or scale up their businesses.”
“It is essential to work closely with clients to deliver every aspect of the solutions they need. So, there is no requirement for them to go elsewhere, which takes away the stress, pressure, and wasted resources that comes with sourcing technology and services from multiple sources and suppliers.”
- Collaboration & Optimization
