case study storage l
Bisham Consulting has helped River Island develop a new European Distribution Centre Complex with a high level of resilience to ensure it will accommodate activities planned for at least the next five years.
Future proof W
ith over 60 years of fashion retailing
experience, River Island is one of the most successful retailers on
the High Street and its continued success will be supported by its brand new European Distribution Centre located in Magna Park, Milton Keynes. The 45,400m2
building’s graduated
blue-grey tinted cladding blends its 15m height smartly into the sky though it is actually two separate units interlinked by twin bridges, a solution that gives this retailer the capacity and resilience it needs – vital issues for any retailer.
River Island’s continued growth was leading inevitably to space constraints in the retailer’s two existing DCs located in nearby Tongwell – as well as its separate e-commerce fulfilment site. In 2007 the retailer decided to look carefully at its next 10 years of forecasts.
“At that stage we needed somebody to evaluate from a scientific point of view, what we believed we needed to meet these forecasts,” said Arif Ahmed,
logistics director of River Island. Having considered several consultancy companies, River Island awarded Bisham Consulting the contract to help develop a strategy to address several key issues.
European expansion The most prominent was that the retailer’s primary DC was built to initially serve around 110 stores yet it now has some 300 stores. Moreover, growth was continuing as River Island was expanding into Europe via franchises and own stores. Risk management around business continuity is another vital issue for River Island, which delivers to all of its stores from the DC including those in Europe. In an environment as competitive as retail, having the ability to ensure business continuity, even under catastrophic circumstance, is crucial. One of the first things Bisham Consulting did for River Island was to carry out a review of its existing DCs. This indicated that process improvement benefits alone, would not be large enough to accommodate
River Island's growth projections. Then, working together, the partners devised a new future-proofed European Distribution Centre to replace these facilities yet give the retailer plenty of room for expansion together with complete flexibility to help mitigate risk in its business. Bisham Consulting identified the levels of future proofing required based on River Island’s requirements that would accommodate future peaks, which in retail can account for up to 40% of
www.PressOnShD.com October 2011 ShD 27
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