While the role of TD SYNNEX in the channel continues to evolve, the business of managing inventory and providing efficient, reliable delivery of products continues to be a core part of the value it brings to the channel – and like the rest of the business, logistics services are continually evolving. We spoke to Simon Coldwell, Logistics Director, TD SYNNEX UK and Ireland, about how this part of the business is adapting to meet the changing needs of customers.
With TD SYNNEX’s role evolving into that of an enabler and supporter of transformation in the channel, providing availability of products and fast, efficient delivery remains at the core of the value it offers to the channel.
The warehousing and distribution part of its operations are therefore vital to the company’s relevance and continued success.
Reseller and retailer businesses could not operate efficiently and profitably without the vast and super-efficient logistics engine that lies behind the everyday business of ordering and delivering IT products.
‘Our culture is primarily one that encourages people to work in the best way they can to continually drive value and meet the customer’s needs.’
SIMON COLDWELL
Logistics Director, TD SYNNEX UK and Ireland
TD SYNNEX’s operation is enormous. Every day, the company collects up to 120,000 items from over 40,000 locations and ships 4,500 orders out for next day delivery right across the UK and Ireland. Its huge, 504,000 square feet (47,000 square meters) warehouse at Magna Park on the outskirts of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, would almost cover seven football pitches. It’s through here that all TD SYNNEX’s UK and Ireland orders are physically processed.
Hive of activity
With so much happening each day, you might expect to find a hive of activity inside the immense structure. In fact, it’s surprisingly calm. Across the site, workers go about their business, checking incoming or outgoing deliveries, manoeuvring pallets between stock locations and areas with fork-lift trucks, or picking, packing and sending items on their way to the customer by placing them onto the 5.5km of conveyors that run through the warehouse.
‘In logistics, we have to continually drive improvement, value and cost-leadership. We have to get it right first time, using the great toolkit we possess, whether physical infrastructure or systems.’
This constant hum of activity is dwarfed by the sheer scale of the warehouse and the thousands of boxes it contains – and the controlled atmosphere masks the constant pressure that the logistics team is always under to deliver to the highest standards, as Simon Coldwell, Logistics Director, TD SYNNEX UK and Ireland, explained.
‘In logistics, we have to continually drive improvement, value and cost-leadership. We have to get it right first time, using the great toolkit we possess, whether physical infrastructure or systems. It’s also with the broad understanding that one mistake is one too many for any reseller/end user and there’s considerable knock-on cost associated with rectifying that error – aside from any reduced confidence in our service.
Speed and accuracy of handling, plus the transparency of product status to all functions in the business, is pivotal to success. Ultimately, executing on the efficient/seamless flow of orders out to customers via integrated carrier partners to best in class standards is the objective and what shapes our behaviours to always drive for improvement.
A well-oiled machine
Underpinning this activity and automation is a highly efficient processing and management system that makes sure every customer order placed on InTouch or keyed in by the sales teams is handled efficiently, accurately and on-time. The whole operation is a well-oiled machine that runs reliably and consistently every day and in doing so, fulfils that core requirement of distribution.
But the constant activity at Magna Park is not confined to receiving, storing, packing and shipping products. Indeed, the logistics operation offers several value-added services (see box) to customers.
In the clean room environments of the Solutions Centre and the Configuration Centre, for example, engineering staff are busy completing builds of specialist servers and systems, for customers. They may be assembling and testing – with the support of Advanced Solutions specialists – Cisco UCS systems for use in data centre or private cloud deployments, for example. Or working on custom server builds that are offered through TD SYNNEX’s Global Computing Components business.
Logistics thus plays an important part in offering added value in many different ways, and this is something the whole team are made aware of at all times. TD SYNNEX’s customer obsession and its Trusted Advisor approach ensures every act is geared towards helping resellers and retailers to increase sales and profits, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, and is as prevalent in Magna Park as it is everywhere else.
Constantly in touch
While the warehouse is some distance away from the three main locations (109 miles from Basingstoke, 105 miles from Bracknell, and 112 miles from Warrington by the shortest route), the logistics team is constantly in touch with the sales operations and shares the same culture and values.
Simon Coldwell said: ‘Our culture is primarily one that encourages people to work in the best way they can to continually drive value and meet the customer’s needs. In logistics, it’s also one that understands that we must constantly respond and adapt as the environment changes.’
‘We absolutely understand the marketplace and that our customers are being asked to do more for their end-user customers now.’
Some of those changes are driven by customer expectations and the increasing complexity of requirements, some by the bigger transformation taking place in the IT channel, Simon Coldwell told us.
‘The complexity of the value streams and proposition has changed, with support for various requests, for differentiation or otherwise, much more prevalent. We absolutely understand the marketplace and that our customers are being asked to do more for their end-user customers now, and when they have a challenge in meeting those requirements, they are asking us if we can help them. When that happens, we will always be positive and help wherever we can to deliver efficient, robust and sustainable solutions.’
Customer obsession
This feedback loop, the customer-focused approach that TD SYNNEX takes across its business, and the work the company does on developing its people, enable it to constantly improve and stay right on top of its game.
‘The customer surveys tell us that we’re broadly in the top echelon of logistics performers, but of course, we want to be the best-in-class. We take complete pride in what we do. You come to work for a reason, to achieve team and individual goals, and to deliver on company objectives. That might sound a little bit corny, but we obviously have detailed tactical plans and we always strive for excellence in what we do. To continuously improve and be as good as we possibly can be – that’s what we push for and hopefully it differentiates us and ensures we keep delivering our part in contributing to the organisation’s success.
‘The demands, the expectations, the capabilities that are required in the logistics sector are higher than they’ve ever been. It can be an incredibly fulfilling place to work’
‘We have a really great set of tools, a great infrastructure and very solid and robust ERP, warehouse management and subsystems. The rest of it boils down to competent logistics management, knitting together demand and the flow of products, and creating an environment and a culture that delivers consistently, despite all things that can happen to bend it out of shape. We can never rest on our laurels in logistics. We have to constantly drive change to remain fit for purpose.’
While the market is changing and more customers are now adopting cloud-based solutions and hybrid infrastructures, and purchasing software on subscription, the need for TD SYNNEX to make products available and ship them overnight to all corners of the UK and Ireland is not going to diminish in any way. The slick, efficient machine that is its logistics operation will continue to be a vital part of the value TD SYNNEX delivers and an engine for growth for the whole channel.
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