Alliance Flooring Distribution in Kidderminster was subsequently acquired in April 2005 taking the combined stock capacity of both companies’ to nearly a million square metres of carpet.

With more than 20,000 product lines available in any one year and a programme of range development, this presents a major challenge to the warehouse and logistics team.

The group operates under four principal brands; French Connection (FCUK), designer label Nicole Farhi, mail-order based TOAST and Great Plains.

To achieve this involved a combination of very narrow aisle racking, high density picking bins and specially adapted man-up order picking trucks from Atlet.

It’s official: third party logistics providers try too hard to please their customers and it is costing them a fortune.

Direct Table Foods has installed £20m of pallet racking from Link 51, at its bacon processing factory in Bury St Edmunds.

Last year, Argos installed Flowstore’s DuraFlow modular multi-wheel roller track system at its Lutterworth warehouse.

Automotive component manufacturer Webasto Roof Systems has increased storage density and picking efficiency with better stock rotation in the warehouse at its factory in Birmingham.

Safety regulations surrounding the design and construction of storage and racking installations have changed. Now, says James Falkner, the client will not be able to appoint a planning supervisor and must take full responsibility for health and safety.

The NHS supply chain in Scotland is going through a major change with the opening of its new national distribution centre. Tom McKenzie is the man charged with making a success of it.