B&Q has chosen DHL Supply Chain to manage the £70m distribution centre it is building at Swindon, as well as the regional consolidation centre at Preston Brook near Runcorn, following an eight-way tendering process.
The two-year contract starts in February 2012. DHL will take responsibility for managing the majority of B&Q’s warehousing and distribution, with peak volume through the Swindon RDC of more than one million cases a week.
DHL will also be responsible for receiving, put-away and distributing stock to stores in the geographical area as well as the remaining regional consolidation centres throughout the UK. In addition, at Preston Brook, DHL will receive stock from RDCs and vendors, manage cross-docking and deliver an average 250 store loads a week.
Rick Jones, director of value chain logistics at B&Q, said: “We announced our plans to review our distribution strategy back in June leading to the establishment of a new regional distribution centre in Swindon, enabling us to improve our service to stores and in turn our customers.
“The Swindon DC will create 550 jobs for the local area and represents an investment of £77.4 million. We are delighted that DHL will be our partner for our new development in Swindon which is due to commence operating from the summer.”
DHL said the contract also safeguarded operations in Worksop and Radlett.
