Following a chance meeting between Oliver Miller and Tom Osterman, Auctionet Senior Client Executive, at an industry dinner in 2022 a partnership between the two companies began in January 2023. Over the course of the next eighteen months, Bishop & Miller began moving away from the traditional ‘live’ sale format and instead converted their Stowmarket premises - with the help of Auctionet’s Partner Success team - into an online sales ‘hub’ from which they now process and sell hundreds of items per day.

Read the testimonial with Oliver Miller, Managing Director at Bishop & Miller Auctioneers:

I always felt we were missing something in the auction industry and spent many years thinking of how it could and should be far more efficient. Most auction houses are not efficient businesses, and it frustrated me at Bishop & Miller that we were constantly battling to find space to put new consignments in amongst stacks of lots being held back for specialist auctions. This resulted in never ending backlogs, and in the confusion items would end up being catalogued out of sequence instead of being handled chronologically by consignment date. There was no productive system in place to stop this and it became demoralising for us, for me, but especially for the team. We found that setting up our monthly auctions was time consuming and involved mis-using valuable team members who could have been out generating new consignments. Then, to make matters worse, the sale would go on view for a week before each auction which effectively closes off an entire room and amplifies the space issue.

When we started to work with Auctionet and their continuous online selling method, we instantly fell in love with it. The team really saw the benefits of the new system and immediately embraced just how rewarding it can be to front-load the work on processing an item, handling it only once before then moving onto the next. By implementing the LEAN system the process of consigning an item into the building, cataloguing it, photographing it and getting it online has never been quicker or smoother. Once we have finished with an item, it heads to the Viewing Room where it remains untouched until it is sold and collected.

This was not the only part of the Auctionet system that appealed to us, the logistics offering made a huge difference to our salerooms. With regular pickups from the Auctionet transport team we were able to clear space more quickly, which in turn enables us to consign and sell far more items in a shorter space of time. We also like how the accounts side took a huge headache away from our team, which meant it left us to focus on client satisfaction, knowing that the payments are taken care of in a swift and effective manner.

Since we were introduced to LEAN by Auctionet, it has been the single biggest change in mindset in this company. It has advanced us and our business on time-saving efficiency and making sure that the customer gets a truly professional and efficient service. The time saved is quite frankly ridiculous, we now produce around double the amount of processed lots each year and by doing this it has created a more relaxed, pleasant and therefore productive working environment. 

The fact that Auctionet actually listens to what auction houses need is also a big plus for me. They really do offer great customer care, and you feel like you are bidding to a bigger global market in a more streamlined and effective way. We have also found that the ability to provide a shipping cost at point of bidding really helps the buyer budget - getting instant information instead of hitting any of the previous shipping / postage quotes roadblocks that normally happen after an auction.

We have also found the Auctionet back-office system very beneficial. It is great when inputting an object; it’s all on one screen, and you can’t publish a lot until images and condition reports, and even shipping costs (which is a super easy drop-down box), are completed. When the lot is live and published, the buyer has all the information they need and the auction house doesn’t need to visit the lot again.