Reader’s Digest has called on Cinram for assistance after acquiring the stock of Delta Leisure Group, the music and home entertainment distributor which went into administration in September.
The task was to clear the Delta warehouse at Dartford, holding close to a million units of stock across 1,700 skus, and integrate it into Reader’s Digest’s existing portfolio at Cinram’s Aylesbury distribution centre or into its D2C fulfilment centre in Guernsey within two weeks.
Cinram’s project manager Alec Thomas said: “The project had a number of hurdles to overcome: no system, an out of date stock file, no hardware, no staff and no material handling equipment.”
Forklifts and pallet stackers had already been sold by the administrators, a fact the Cinram team wasn’t aware of until the new buyer arrived to collect it on the first day on site.
“We quickly assessed the situation and developed a simple and effective solution. With laptops acting as inventory and despatch system, another as the carton labeller, we managed to repack stock back into original cartons, collate loads to their various destinations and even despatch a few orders in the mix. Overall we managed to pick, pack and ship the stock out within the limited window available.”
Gary Hopkins, CEO of Reader’s Digest said: “This deal was done within a very short time frame following which the Delta warehouse had to be cleared within just a couple of weeks. The Cinram team was headed up on site by Alec Thomas, and I can only describe what he managed to achieve in the limited time as ‘miraculous’.
* Cinram provided assistance to fellow logistics company Sony DADC following the destruction of the Enfield DC during the 2011 London riots, helping it to resume operations for its key client accounts within a few days.
