Products being packed, ready to be loaded
Turner gave an example of a games console, which cannot be bought in isolation, you need to get controllers, games and such like for it. “So how do they differentiate in that marketplace? Our pick tower allows them to have dynamic bundling,” he explains. “They can drive value and volume to their customers by bundling products. They can create digital bundles, physical bundles, we give them that ability to do that, so now they can have that point of differentiation. Our investment in the pick tower is enabling that.” Sustainability Exertis is also mindful of the NDC’s environmental impact and throughout the NDC is technology to help cut power use, wastage and carbon emissions. For
The message is always about how we provide leverage to our partners. That is why there have been a lot of
investments in the pick tower,
pallets and 800 SKUs. Throughout the day, products are picked and packed, ready to go
out for delivery across the country. “You place your orders today; we’ll
and that is to maximise this changing market.
guarantee you that you get it tomorrow,” says Wineyard. “What we want to do is enhance the proposition for our customers. This is a seven-day operation, so we’re shipping out here for next-day service seven days a week, five of which is a 24-hour operation.” On the mezzanine floor, 60,000sq ft is dedicated to returns processing. “We want to keep adding value to the supply chain,” says Wineyard. “Within the facility, there is an ESD service centre, so we can offer vendors full test capability for returned products, but also we can do added value services in terms of asset tagging, memory upgrades, autopilot and imaging. “Exertis sits right in the middle. We try to make sure we take our vendors’ products to the end user in the most efficient and value- added way possible.” Changed landscape Phill Turner, chief experience officer at Exertis, adds that the commercial landscape has changed in recent years in the wake of the COVID pandemic. “Now vendors want to go direct to the end user through direct-to-consumer platforms,” he says. “There are lots of retail businesses now and we’ve extended our product portfolios because bricks and mortar businesses are no longer limited and don’t want to sit on stock and as a result, the shape of the distribution business changes and we have had to adapt our capability. “The message is always about how we provide leverage to our partners. That is why there have been a lot of investments in the pick tower, and that is to maximise this changing market. So how can we create that value add for our retail partners when they want to compete in a very competitive landscape?”
instance, the roof of the NDC is covered with 6,000sq m of solar panels, which generate 40% of its electricity. “To put that into context, we produce enough to power 210 homes,” says Wineyard. “The solar panels reduce our carbon emissions by 450 tonnes per year. If we’re generating energy that’s above and beyond what we’re consuming, we pump that back into the national grid, so we do our part for that renewable energy commitment on behalf of the UK.” In addition, throughout the facility, there is motion-activated LED lighting, as well as 14 chargers for electric vehicles. The packing process has also been optimised to reduce cardboard waste. Cardboard packages are mechanically reduced in size to reduce the empty space within them, which in turn reduces the space they take to transport – meaning more items can be transported at once – and stops products rattling around inside the package. This is all done through an automated process, leaving products untouched. Conclusion Exertis’ impressive NDC shows the company is well set to keep offering industry-leading statistics on delivery and further improve its service to vendors and resellers. With the growth in comms products showing no signs of slowing, the NDC will be crucial for many businesses to get their products to the customer on time and as efficiently as possible.
Phill Turner Chief Experience Officer
exertis.co.uk
ucadvanced.com
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