VBH, the hardware specialist, is investing £250,000 in an expansion of its distribution facility in Kent.
The new storage facility, which will be in place next spring, will allow VBH to hold an additional 800 pallets of fast moving stock at the company’s head office and main warehouse in Gillingham. A change to the warehouse layout will be implemented at the same time as the expansion. The new layout is designed to speed up all aspects of the booking in and out processes and will also improve picking accuracy.
The creation of the additional storage capacity and the associated warehousing efficiencies has led to a decision to incorporate the sales and distribution functions of VBH’s specialist Architectural Aluminium Division, currently situated in Birmingham, within the company’s head office in Gillingham.
VBH (GB) managing director, Peter Rowlands, said: “The Gillingham expansion gives us huge benefits in terms of capacity and efficiency. Unlike our depots in East Kilbride and Swansea, which both serve the geographical areas around them, the Aluminium Division sends orders to customers throughout the UK. The added space we have created in Gillingham makes it possible to house the stocks currently held in two sites under one roof, so it makes sense to do that.
“Our logistics know-how means that there will be no detrimental effect on deliveries to those customers who are currently served by the Birmingham warehouse. VBH (GB) currently delivers 98.6% of order lines for catalogue items on time and in full. The consolidation will help us continue to achieve and exceed our 98% target over the course of 2016. Relocating the Aluminium Division to Kent has brought about the unfortunate need to make some positions redundant. This difficult decision has not been taken lightly, but the restructuring is vital to enable VBH to offer our customers in the UK even better service now and into the future.”
VBH advises that the Birmingham sales office will close at the end of 2015 with the warehouse following next summer after the Gillingham expansion is complete.
VBH’s facilities in East Kilbride and Swansea will be unaffected by the restructure, with customers in Scotland, South and Mid Wales, and South West England continuing to be served by these two satellite depots.
