Meet the ASC Team – Deborah Reddihough, Commercial Manager

The commercial team at ASC Direct work to ensure that the best value is provided to customers across the wide range of products manufactured. This means knowing the best manufacturing process and material consideration for any given type of packaging to maintain the highest levels of quality and care.

Our new Commercial Manager – welcome Deborah! - is always looking to deliver additional value to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business. To find out more we asked Deborah some questions about her career.

Starting out

Deborah began her career in garment labelling. “One of the first jobs I had was for a company that made labelling for clothes. I joined as Sales Co-ordinator, which meant processing orders for customers. This included designing the label, providing samples for approval and then seeing it through to manufacture. It also included handling any customer complaints and making sure these were rectified quickly and efficiently.”

Deborah appreciated her introduction to manufacturing. “I enjoyed the customer contact and being involved in every process from design to delivery.”

Move into retail support

After this, Deborah moved to Peter Black’s distribution in Keighley. “This job was slightly different in that we received products in bulk from overseas manufacturers, and then quality checked the deliveries, before organising distribution to some of the biggest retailers in the UK, like Boots, M&S and Superdrug.”

Deborah enjoyed this role and learning about process efficiency. “Having to receive, check and then deliver goods was really interesting as we had to continually evolve the most cost-effective and efficient way to do this. Sometimes the products needed additional work or there were issues with the stock delivered, so we had to organise re-working and solve problems for our customers.” 

This role gave Deborah the opportunity of promotion. “This was a great company, and I worked my way up from order processing to looking after key accounts. I really enjoyed developing my customer relationship skills and ensuring our clients got what they needed. There was a lot of pressure too – retailers cannot have empty shelf space or sell faulty goods, so we had to make sure the right products were in the right place at the right time!”

Taking the next step into corrugated packaging

The next role took Deborah into the world of corrugated packaging. “I joined VPK and ended up staying for 15 years. I really enjoyed the introduction to the world of packaging – it combined my knowledge of manufacturing and process efficiency with the need to protect customer’s high value products.”

Deborah joined as Order Processor and Sales Co-ordinator moving up to Trade Account Manager. “This role was about making sure the customer knew what was happening and the factory had the right information to process the order. We held daily production meetings to keep everyone informed and I spent a lot of time liaising with other departments making sure they had the instructions they needed.”

Deborah was promoted to Customer Services Manager and then to Commercial Manager. “I always enjoyed supporting the sales team and helping to get great results from production. It’s a real balance and at the heart of this are happy customers supported by a motivated team.”

The Commercial Manager role meant managing the team, knowing about regulatory requirements like HR and Health and Safety, and producing monthly sales analysis and margin reports.”

Joining ASC Direct

Deborah joined ASC Direct in September 2025 as Commercial Manager. “I have lots of experience in corrugated manufacturing, so this was a brilliant opportunity to learn more and add value to ASC Direct.”

Deborah couldn’t wait to get started. “I love working with customers and making sure they get the packaging they need. My mantra is ‘be proactive not reactive’ and try and solve problems before they happen. I’m involved in costing, operations and customer services - I love the corrugated industry so it’s great to be part of the team at ASC Direct”.

The role has involved opportunities for learning. “I am liaising more with suppliers and putting agreements in place for purchasing materials across the company. I’ll continue to meet suppliers so we can understand their capability better and forge better relationships. I’m open to trying new ways of working where I think we can see a benefit.”

Outside work

When not involved in the operation at ASC Direct, Deborah finds her time filled with her family. “I’ve got two children, aged 13 and 23, so very different interests and needs! We also enjoy our family holidays together and getting out to see our friends.”

Deborah is there to make sure ASC Direct customers get the best in right sized packaging for all of our customers. When you need custom packaging for your high value products, call our sales team on 0800 0731 126 or get in touch.