Methodology

To assist or enable all elements of the study a base case model was built using historical delivery data of two average and two peak weeks.  The model was built with all routes exactly as planned down to the route content, drop order and vehicle size using the same software Distributer use for daily planning.

LPC were retained by a leading retailer to support the sizing and mechanical handling requirements for a new distribution centre. The client was consolidating its network into a single site.

The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the following:

1. Blue sky distribution network development.
2. The universality of our modelling tool:
   
   1. Delivery units included pallets, oversized pallets, stillages and nested or stacked products, all converted into standard pallet footprint equivalents.
   2. Some products or customers required vehicles with mechanical offloading capability; others could be served with conventional flat beds.
   3. Vehicle overloading was a risk, so order weight was also used as a constraint

 

The purpose of this case study is to illustrate two things:

1. Blue sky distribution network development.
2. The ability to optimise the balance between own fleet and carrier deliveries.

A specialist bathroom online retailer engaged LPC to design their materials handling system for a new twenty thousand sq.m facility. The existing operation operated across two local sites with third party storage also locally. The sites were constrained for storage capacity, receiving and loading areas with a congested packing operation.

A leading European bottle manufacturer and beverages company enlisted the help of a leading Management Consultancy to expand its site that is operationally constrained to improve operational throughput and drive future efficiencies. LPC supported the study by determining the optimum solution at one of its principal manufacturing sites. 

LPC supported a tableware and light catering equipment company to the food service industry to increase storage capacity and through put. This entailed the demolition of an internal partition wall and mezzanine to enable the expansion of the existing narrow aisle storage system. Throughput was increased by the implementation of additional goods doors and yard expansion to enable vehicles to manoeuvre onto the new loading bays.

House of Fraser is a British department store group with 57 stores and 2 outlets across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, and after the Second World War a large number of acquisitions transformed the company into a national chain. More recently it has been owned by several Entities including the Chinese Sanpower Group and now Sports Direct.

Baxi is a part of BDR Thermea, one of Europe's largest manufacturers and distributors of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems.

It employs 6,400 people throughout Europe with a turnover exceeding €1.2 billion. The group has significant market shares across all major continental territories and in the United Kingdom.

FJ Need are a manufacturer and processor of cheese. They have an in-house fleet complemented by hauliers.

Their parent company Ornua were concerned with whether the transport arrangements within Need Foods were correct, wishing to establish:

• Whether third party haulier usage was effective or not
• The required changes to current fleet
• Whether to keep fleet as is, reduce fleet, disband fleet or expand fleet