As one of the UK’s fastest growing companies, mail-order and internet retailer Boden has been phenomenally successful selling its unique brand of clothing to men, women and children. As part of the company’s continued expansion it has invested in a bespoke storage solution from LINPAC Storage Systems to complete the second phase of their Leicester based warehouse operations.
Inside the warehouse the immediate storage challenge for the company was to maximise the remaining capacity within the building whilst incorporating some new features that would be of benefit in the medium to long term. Operations Development Manager Peter Lemon was responsible for selecting a storage partner who could match the company’s high standards of quality and service.
“We selected LINPAC Storage Systems to handle the second phase of our storage solution,” Lemon explained. “We knew what we wanted yet LINPAC challenged our design and we liked that! Their prognosis proved correct and, for example, we changed the design to move a staircase from its original position to free up more room for storage.”
He continued, “Their price was competitive too, but the most important criteria for us was that we selected the right solution – the most practical that would work for us - and that was the one from LINPAC. They worked with us to provide the best possible layout and then liaised closely with our insurers and all parties involved in the project.”
In the completed second storage phase, the Boden products are now stored on a three tier rack supported solution. On the ground floor garments are picked from boxes placed on shelving. Individual items on clothes hangers are stored on the second floor on a garment hanging system and the top floor consists of boxed replenishment stock. A conveyor positioned at the back of the warehouse takes stock from the top floor down to the two floors beneath.
LINPAC has installed heavy duty Longspan shelving in a four high shelf configuration to accommodate four/five levels of Boden’s boxed products on both the ground floor and the top tier of storage.
The garment hanging solution on the second floor has been tailor-made to provide three tiers of hanging storage complete with neat catch netting. For Boden the additional row of hanging storage gives an extra six months’ life to the warehouse.
“LINPAC did a good job for us,” concluded Lemon. “With such a large project involving numerous other contractors delays are inevitable - the LINPAC team not only anticipated them, they also dealt with them swiftly. Taking the right action got us back on track and the solution was finished on time. We now have a practical storage solution that is technically safe and allows us to maximise our productivity, with over 6,000 orders being despatched from here daily it’s a very busy operation.”