Business English lesson 8 : A sales company
Video

Beginner level / CECR : A2/B1

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1st Part
Video

2nd Part
Understanding

3rd Part
Vocabulary

4th Part
Writing

5th Part
Reading

6th Part
Game

Lesson 5:
A sales company

  • Objectives : learn how a sales company works. Improve your communication in a professional context and your business skills.
  • Level : A2/B1
  • Public : for people who want to communicate in a business environment
  • Total duration : 1 hour (approximately 10 minutes for each part)

1️⃣ Start by watching the video

This is Fresh Direct, a British company with sites all over the UK.   This one is in the south of England. James Cartwright is its operations manager :  
“Fresh Direct is a supplier of fruit and vegetables to the food service industry.”  
Their clients in the food service industry range from small shops and cafes to large hotel and restaurant chains.  
Fresh Direct takes about 700 orders every day, so it needs a good system in its warehouses.  
“We’ve got a warehouse management system that looks after product right the way through the supply chain.  
so, everything that comes in is on a screen, everything that goes out is also on a screen”.  
Fresh direct scans and records every product that goes in and out of the warehouse.  
When an order comes in, they know exactly what products they have in stock.  
When they receive an order, there is a simple process to follow.  
“The first stage would be receiving the order from the customer.  
When we receive the order, it’s keyed on to our order management system.  
After that, the warehouse managers will allocate the order to an individual picker who will then go and assemble the order onto a pallet.  
A second person will, then, take the instruction off the picker and double check both quantity and quality of the products”.  
Finally, when they are certain that everything is to the right standard, they load the pallet onto a lorry and deliver it to the customer.  
The company uses around 200 lorries to deliver the products on time to different parts of the country.  
The warehouse is open 24 /7.  
Employees work 40 hours a week in shifts, so it is essential that the system of processing orders works perfectly.  
This well-organized operation has made Fresh Direct a very successful company.  

Need some help ?

This is Fresh Direct, a British company with sites all over the UK.   This one is in the south of England. James Cartwright is its operations manager :  Voici Fresh Direct, une entreprise britannique qui a des sites dans tout le Royaume-Uni. Celui-ci se trouve dans le sud de l’Angleterre. James Cartwright est son directeur des opérations :  
“Fresh Direct is a supplier of fruit and vegetables to the food service industry.”  “Fresh Direct est un fournisseur de fruits et légumes dans le secteur alimentaire ». 
Their clients in the food service industry range from small shops and cafes to large hotel and restaurant chains.  Ses clients dans l’alimentation vont des petits magasins et cafés aux grandes chaînes d’hôtels et de restaurants.
Fresh Direct takes about 700 orders every day, so it needs a good system in its warehouses.  Fresh Direct prend environ 700 commandes par jour, et a donc besoin d’un système efficace dans ses entrepôts.
“We’ve got a warehouse management system that looks after product right the way through the supply chain.  « Nous avons un système de gestion d’entrepôt qui gère la marchandise tout au long de la chaîne d’approvisionnement,
so, everything that comes in is on a screen, everything that goes out is also on a screen”.  de sorte que tout ce qui entre est affiché sur un écran, tout ce qui sort est également affiché sur un écran ».
Fresh direct scans and records every product that goes in and out of the warehouse.   Fresh direct scanne et enregistre chaque produit qui entre et sort de l’entrepôt.
When an order comes in, they know exactly what products they have in stock.  Lorsqu’une commande arrive, les employés  savent ( on sait…) exactement quels produits ils ont (on a) en stock.
When they receive an order, there is a simple process to follow.  Lorsque les employés (lorsque l’on reçoit) reçoivent la commande, il y a un processus simple à suivre.  
“The first stage would be receiving the order from the customer.  « La première étape consiste à réceptionner la commande du client.  
When we receive the order, it’s keyed on to our order management system.  Lorsque nous réceptionnons la commande, elle est saisie dans notre système de gestion des commandes.  
After that, the warehouse managers will allocate the order to an individual picker who will then go and assemble the order onto a pallet.  Ensuite, les responsables de l’entrepôt attribuent la commande à un préparateur individuel qui va, alors, regrouper la commande sur une pallette.
A second person will, then, take the instruction off the picker and double check both quantity and quality of the products”.  Une second employé va ensuite reprendre la commande et vérifier une seconde fois,  à la fois la quantité et la qualité de la marchandise ».
Finally, when they are certain that everything is to the right standard, they load the pallet onto a lorry and deliver it to the customer.  Enfin, lorsque les employés sont sûrs que tout est conforme à la norme, ils chargent la palette sur un camion et la livrent au client.  
The company uses around 200 lorries to deliver the products on time to different parts of the country.  L’entreprise a besoin d’environ 200 camions pour livrer les produits à temps dans les différentes régions du pays.
The warehouse is open 24 /7.  L’entrepôt est ouvert 24 heures sur 24 et 7 jours sur 7.  
Employees work 40 hours a week in shifts, so it is essential that the system of processing orders works perfectly.  Les employés travaillent 40 heures par semaine par roulement, il est donc essentiel que le système de traitement des commandes fonctionne parfaitement.  
This well- organized operation has made Fresh Direct a very successful company.  Ce fonctionnement bien organisé a fait de Fresh Direct une entreprise très prospère.  

2️⃣ Learn new words:

to range from A to B

Meaning:
to include a variety of different things  in addition to those mentioned
(Traduction: s’étendre)

Synonyms : to span/to scope/to rank…
a range: une gamme

to look after

Meaning:
to be responsible for
(Traduction : superviser)

Synonyms :
to care for, to oversee, to supervise

right through 

Meaning:
(adv) : from one end to the other- from A to Z
(Traduction: complètement)

Synonyms:
completely, fully

to record

Meaning:
to keep a permanent account of facts or events by writing them down, filming them, storing them in a computer…
(Traduction : enregistrer)

Synonyms:
to note, to register

a stage

Meaning:
part of a process- a separate part that a process is divided into (Traduction: une étape)

Synonyms :
step, phase 

to check

Meaning:
to examine something to see if it is correct, safe or acceptable
(Traduction : vérifier)

Synonyms:
to control, to test

to load

Meaning:
to put a large quantity of things or people onto or into sth
(Traduction: charger)

Synonyms :
to fill, to cram, to charge

in shifts

Meaning:
period of time worked by a group of workers who start work as another group finishes
(Traduction : travail posté/ travail en shift/ les trois-huit)

Synonyms :
in rotation

processing

Meaning:
perform a series of mechanical or chemical operations on (something) in order to change or preserve it.
(Traduction : traitement)

Synonyms :
preparing, transforming

3️⃣ Read, listen and repeat the following sentences:

Fresh Direct is a supplier of fruit and vegetables.

→ Traduction : Fresh Direct est un fournisseur de fruits et légumes.

It takes about 700 orders every day.

→ Traduction : Elle (l’entreprise) traite 700 commandes chaque jour.

There is a simple process to follow.

→ Traduction : Il y a un processus simple à suivre.

Managers will allocate the order to a picker.

→ Traduction : Les responsables attribuent la commande à un préparateur.

They load the pallet onto a lorry.

→ Traduction : Ils chargent la palette sur un camion.

4️⃣ Write new words

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