Delivering solutions in times of demand

Feb 12 2008 By The Journal

WITH some two million parcels delayed and arriving too late for this Christmas, both the Post Office and national courier firms are looking closely at their deadlines and handling systems to avoid a repeat situation in December 2008.

Michael Meredith, managing director of the Gateshead-based The Storage Place, believes the problem, however, doesn’t lie solely with delivery agents but also with those organizations, particularly e-commerce firms, which promised pre-Christmas deliveries without having the logistical capacity to deliver.

He commented: “The phenomenal growth of e-commerce did swamp the delivery agents to a certain extent but in many cases they were also unable to pick up goods for delivery as small firms struggled to sort and pack purchased items. All too often, organizations concentrate on the front end of e-commerce – making sure their website is attractive, easily navigable and contains the right goods – without thinking of the back end of delivery logistics.”

A possible answer for both fledgling and established companies is to simply out-source this function to specialist operators who are able to store, sort and deliver goods on behalf of clients. The service obviously comes as a cost, but usually far less than trying to establish a dedicated storage and logistics facility for individual companies.

Michael Meredith continued: “Whilst most organisations are quite happy to outsource a variety of functions from HR, marketing, accountancy, legal services and even production, many struggle to set up their own delivery logistics – under utilized warehouses, vans and staff are simply not economically viable in a competitive market and then become swamped in times of high demand for consumer goods.

“Storage and logistics companies offer a real alternative, particularly for e-commerce companies, by being able to take over this function off-site, allowing the company to concentrate on their own strengths.

“At The Storage Place, for example, we offer a variety of tariffs and packages for clients, ranging from simple secure storage, whether this be of archives or heavy goods and everything in between, to a full import facility, unpacking and storage of goods, computerised stock rotation and repacking and delivery of sold items.”

One company to take advantage of this service has been Chromium Bathrooms, an online retailer offering customers top of the range, designer, bathroom furniture and fixtures.

Michael Cafferkey, director of chromiumbathrooms.co.uk, said: “We import a lot of our products, mainly from China, which is why it’s so important we have an efficient and reliable handling system in operation.

“The Storage Place acts as an extension of our business, sorting and storing our goods, and providing a flexible and reliable service. Outsourcing is the most practical and cost-effective solution for small businesses and online retailers who don’t want to incur the huge expense of industrial insurance and manual labour. Availing of the services provided by The Storage Place, means we can deliver on our promise to deliver on time and guarantee our customers the best service possible.”

From single self-storage units to palletised goods, general warehousing, heavy industrial storage and customs warehousing, The Storage Place offers easily retrievable, dry, safe and secure facilities for all storage requirements.

The Storage Place has introduced customs warehousing from January 2008. For further information call (0191) 438-1616, email info@thestorageplace.co.uk or visit the website, www.thestorageplace.co.uk