News in the Channel - issue #11

EXERTIS NDC

Tower of power Exertis’ National Distribution Centre in Burnley is a triumph of technology that ensures that orders are processed and sent out as quickly and efficiently as possible to satisfy customer demand. News in the Channel got to have a look around.

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On the outskirts of Burnley in Lancashire, just off Junction 9 of the M65, lies the Burnley Bridge Retail Park. As you turn into the development, a vast building looms up in front of you – Exertis’ National Distribution Centre (NDC). From here, a dizzying number of products go all around the country to fill customers’ seemingly insatiable desire for tech. Exertis’ NDC is huge – it is 52,000sq m, of which 43,000sq m is taken up with the warehouse and there is room for expansion of up to another 18,000sq m. Its workable height is 18.8 metres. At the centre of the warehouse is the pick tower, which comprises 32 aisles, all 100 metres long and 16 metres high, crammed from top to bottom with 31,000 pallets of electronic products. Operatives use specialised forklift trucks to get the pallets down when needed; they are the largest vehicles of their kind – if the racks were any taller, then a crane would be needed. Some larger products – those with a display of more than 47” for instance – are stored elsewhere

in the NDC. But then the NDC needs to be huge for the sheer volume of products that are shipped in and out of it every day. As Sion Wineyard, Exertis’ chief logistics officer, says, Exertis ships 17 million units every year through this operation on average – it mushroomed to 21 million during the pandemic. Watching the operation at work, it is an amazingly well-oiled machine. Each day, about 90 articulated trucks deliver into the NDC between 6am-2pm, dropping off 650 pallets and 500 SKUs on average, although at its peak times in November and December this rises to 1,300 pallets and 800 SKUs. Throughout the day, products are picked and packed, ready go out for delivery. Sion says that at the heart of what Exertis does is its commitment to its customer promise. “We are delivering industry leading performance, which is today at 99.56% – that’s ecommerce next day delivery. You place your orders today; we’ll guarantee you that you get it tomorrow. What we want to do is enhance the proposition for our customers.

Exertis’ NDC

is huge – it is 52,000sq m, of which 43,000sq m is taken up with the warehouse and there is room for expansion of up to another 18,000sq m. Its workable height is 18.8 metres.

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The vast pick tower at Exertis' NDC

Sion Wineyard chief logistics officer

exertis.co.uk

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