Norbert Dentressangle wins Toolbank contract

Norbert Dentressangle has won a major new contract with Toolbank, one of Europe’s leading specialist distributors of hand and power tools.

Toolbank stocks more than 25,000 products and 250 brands, including Black & Decker, DeWALT, Milwaukee, Ryobi and Stanley.

 

The four-year deal involves distribution via Norbert Dentressangle’s Red Inside solution, a dedicated service that also has the flexibility to manage variations in volume. In a separate agreement, Norbert Dentressangle will handle Toolbank’s Christmas peak warehousing and delivery requirements, ensuring an efficient integrated service is provided.

 

The Red Inside transport operation combines the collection of products from two national distribution centres (NDCs) in the Midlands and through-the-night distribution to 11 Toolbank branches across the UK via a fleet of six dedicated vehicles. In addition, the team is responsible for the collection, consolidation and delivery of inter-branch transfers.

 

A bespoke IT solution that provides total visibility of the entire operation in real time was pivotal to the win – the scanning-based tracking software is an adaptation of that used on the Norbert Dentressangle night network by its automotive sector customers. 

 

“The daily transfer of goods between the NDCs and regional depots is critical to the success of our business,” commented Phil Corby, Logistics Director at Toolbank. “Approximately 30% of our customer sales come from stock which is stored centrally and this stock has to be transported overnight in time to be cross docked onto our local delivery fleet. 

 

“Toolbank selected Norbert Dentressangle for a number of reasons; the proximity of the company’s Rowley distribution hub to the NDCs, its experience with time critical overnight deliveries and its robust IT solutions, which will provide up-to-date track and trace data on all of our intercompany deliveries.”

 

For the Christmas peak operation, approximately 4,000 pallets will be stored and picked from a Norbert Dentressangle facility in Bromford Gate, Birmingham. From there product will be delivered through the shared-user network to more than 2,000 independent stockists.

 

Phil Corby added: “We have also appointed Norbert Dentressangle to provide the logistics for our annual Christmas promotion. The decision to award the business was based on a range of criteria including space availability, location, security, transport connections and IT solutions. We are looking forward to working closely together over the coming years.”

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