Comet has awarded a Norbert Dentressangle a £100m five year contract to handle UK warehousing and distribution.
The electricals retailer has been going through a major restructuring of its supply chain and last year set out restructuring plans designed to save £10m a year. In February it was acquired by private equity house OpCapita.
Simon Rigby, Comet’s supply chain director said: “We are very much looking forward to working with Norbert Dentressangle, who we recognise as a strong partner, being able to support us not only with our day to day operations but also with their overall strategic thinking and planning processes.”
Comet has more than 275,000 sq m of selling space across 241 stores throughout the UK, along with its on-line channel which offers the retailer’s complete range of home electricals for ‘click and collect’ or home delivery.
Dentressangle will be responsible for managing all activities at Comet’s RDCs in Skelmersdale and Harlow, including receipt, put-away, store picking, despatch and returns management. At both Harlow and Skelmersdale, the company will also bulk pick product for transhipment into Comet’s network of 12 home delivery platforms.
It will use a dedicated fleet of around 50 tractors and 160, mainly double-deck, trailers, and will be responsible for all transport out of the two RDCs, along with two further outbases in Scotland and the South West, serving Comet’s stores and home delivery platforms throughout the UK. Norbert Dentressangle will also manage Comet’s existing collection service, managed by a centralised transport team in Northampton.