20 MusicWeek 03.08.12 FEATURE GEM A MOVING EXPERIENCE
Boasting a modern £15m, 250,000 square foot distribution centre, Gem Logistics is reaching out to the music industry’s indie labels - promising it can make the most of their products
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t has partnerships with some of the biggest names in entertainment and retail, but Gem Logistics doesn’t feel that it has truly realised its potential relationship with the music industry yet. The recognisable company is far from a stranger to our fair business: the likes of HMV, Ministry of Sound and Essential Music & Marketing have all reaped the benefits of Gem’s 250,000 square foot warehouse in Raunds, Northamptonshire and are hardly names to be sniffed at. But head of client services Stephen Duke
admits: “We are still a bit of a secret in the music industry. I don’t think many people know Gem Logistics as a music distributor, as it were.” Gem identified the industry as a target when it
moved into its new facility in 2010, having bought it from Tesco’s pension fund. “We highlighted areas of business that we wanted to improve on and music was one of them,” Duke explains. “Our biggest capture to date is Essential and we have a very good relationship with those guys now, who’ve been with us for 15 months. “We see ourselves as primarily working with the independent labels, becoming a third-party logistics solutions company that allows them to go out and source and sell products; allowing them the freedom to do all the things that they want to do, while we take away the pain of logistics and manage that process for them.”
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If you think the term ‘logistics’ is a broad one,
you’d be right, but Gem see that in itself as a benefit to their clients. Gem has a whole suite of services – or a ‘menu’, as Duke refers to it – geared towards making the route to market as smooth as possible. Much like the pick ‘n’ mix mantra found at the core of a label services contract, Gem is keen to tailor its services to clients, who may want to isolate short- term storage or simply use the company as an invoice manager, for example. “One of our major USPs is definitely our
flexibility,” suggests Duke. “I think that supply chain in general has become a lot tighter so stock is going to manufacture later, therefore you only have a short period of time to get it out. Equally, where replenishment is concerned, you need to be able to turn stock around. In the past we’ve worked with major retailers to get same day deliveries in.” It’s that kind of quick reaction that can be so valuable to indie labels in particular, who may see a release perform unexpectedly well in the midweek charts - and suddenly need to rush more physical stock into retailers before the Sunday finish line. Alan Lynch, Gem Logistics' operations director,
comments: “The services we offer are extremely relevant to what people’s needs are currently. Our dedicated facility is equipped to provide a complete solution, ranging from one unit shipped to the end user through to parcel deliveries to High Street
destinations and beyond - along with pallet deliveries to regional, European and worldwide destinations.” Duke gives a specifically music-related example:
“If an artist is going to make an appearance somewhere, we can make sure that there’s going to be stock in a local independent. It’s those kind of things that help drive a campaign. “We’re also very system-led. We give our clients
the ability to have real-time data so they can call up a stock report and it will show their holding at that time. Being able to have that kind of data gives them more tools when they’re out there selling.” Some of Gem Logistic’s services are currently utilised more in industries such as video games than they are in music, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored by labels. Take product bundles, for example: while it’s a technique more often used for special edition games to be packaged with toys and accessories, it’s also something that labels are turning to more often as consumers become increasingly accustomed to getting ‘added value’ with their CD purchases. Gem makes it simple and, again, can react
quickly to a sudden change in a label’s strategy. “Should a music partner wish to put two albums together as a one-off promotion,” explains Duke, “we’re able to bundle them in an overwrap, or help design a sleeve through Gem Creative, which is another one of our divisions. They can design
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