Response to Coronavirus

In response to the changing situation relating to the Coronavirus outbreak, we have set up a Business Continuity Planning team who are working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our people and mitigate any impacts on our customers. We have put in place precautionary measures to mitigate the risks associated with coronavirus, following the latest government advice and WHO guidelines. We are working with our supply chain to avoid products being out of stock and have plans in place for getting our products to our customers.

Potential impact on availability

The virus outbreak is having an impact on stock availability for some items, which is a very small percentage of our overall range. The team is working hard to mitigate this by working closely with our supply chain to minimise potential disruption, particularly for key product lines.

We are the market leader for range and availability of products and we are working hard to ensure these service levels are maintained. Please do get in touch with your main point of contact or look at the product pages of the website if you have questions relating to stock levels.

F&Qs

• Do you have any sanitiser in stock?
• Demand has been unprecedented for sanitiser and the availability of products is changing daily. We are working with our suppliers to try to secure additional stock. In the meantime our website will reflect the current stock position.
• What is your stock position on other Personal Protective Equipment products?
• We are investing significantly in those PPE products that we are seeing higher than usual demand for. Those include: Aprons, Disposable Gloves, Hand Cleaners and Soaps, Hand Wipes and Multi-purpose Wipes. We have seen an impact on availability for some of these items as well. Again, please refer to our website which has up to date stock information.
• What about wider stock availability, do you anticipate any issues
• We hold a good depth of inventory. We have been in contact with all our suppliers to confirm the availability of stock and we are confident that we have continuity of supply.
• Do products coming from Asia present a contamination risk?
• No. People receiving packages from China are not at risk of contracting the Coronavirus. From previous analysis, the World Health Organisation have stated that Coronaviruses do not survive long on objects such as letters or packages. We are waiting for further guidance on this and will update our communications accordingly.
• What checks are you undertaking to ensure your staff are safe at work and to return to work after an absence for holiday/sickness?
• We are updating our people, travel and visitor policies on a regular basis, in line with the latest Government advice. This is communicated to all permanent and agency staff, as well as our external links, such as suppliers and delivery partners. We have also introduced site movement restrictions and stopped visitors coming to site to protect our colleagues.
• Will I still be able to order for Next Day Delivery?
• For the short term we will be adapting our delivery service and have moved our order cut off to 4pm, for delivery within 48 hours. We will always let you know the expected delivery timescales at the time of your purchase.
• Are you changing your opening hours?
• We are changing our operational opening hours: for our contact centre we will have teams available from 8.30am until 5.30pm Monday to Friday (we will close on Saturdays and Sundays).
  We may also have to change our opening hours for our store to reflect the number of colleagues available and enable them to work safely. Please check our website for any changes: www.nisbets.ie/dublinstore
• Are you changing your operations in relation to Delivery?
• We are working with our delivery partners to ensure the safety of staff and customers. You may be asked to follow a different process to normal when they deliver your goods; please follow their guidance.
• What if I can’t pay my invoice?
• Whilst we do urge customers to continue to pay to standard terms please do contact us if you are experiencing difficulties with managing cash flow.