Background
With 40 years’ experience, TFS Direct is recognised as being one of the stand-out industry leaders in the specification and supply of aluminium gates, access control, gate automation and security gate hardware to the commercial and domestic market. With a network of approved installers, TFS Direct is committed to delivering a gold standard service.
The Project
The organisation, based in the North-West, boasts a huge warehouse and enormous amount of varying stock in a newly expanded facility – and has year-on-year been steadily growing its customer base, and expanded into new sectors over recent years. After such a significant boom in business, TFS recognised the need to invest in automated storage systems – to ensure a faster and more efficient distribution process for their business.
TFS Direct first met Industore at a logistics exhibition. Impressed with the simplicity and efficiency of the Lean-Lift, TFS were quick to recognise Industore as the best in class to fulfil their storage and retrieval requirements. Industore promptly conducted a comprehensive site-visit, and made several recommendations, all of which were taken on by the ambitious suppler – before the Industore team commenced on the build and install.
Compared to the previous method of storage employed by TFS (racking), Industore’s Hanel Lean-Lift, which has now been in place for several years, has managed to reduce the storage footprint from 40m2 to 4.84 m2. A saving of 88%. Significantly, introduction of the Lean-Lift freed up half of all warehouse staff, who were successfully repurposed to work elsewhere in the business. Within just days of the Lean-Lift ‘go-live’ date, TFS realised the true improvement of the picking and packing process – above and beyond what they anticipated. Furthermore, just a few months down the line, client satisfaction – according to marketing manager, Matt Sutcliffe, soared.
The Results
TFS has had plans to introduce an additional Lean-Lift to their facility for some time, following the real-world success they’ve realised since implementing the first unit. As a result of the UK Government’s super-deduction announcement, TFS has accelerated plans to introduce another unit, ensuring they capitalise on this huge opportunity.
“From initial customer contact through to improved picking and packing, the lean lift has helped to streamline a number of our internal processes, and we look forward to working together with Industore as we continue our plans for growth in the coming years, including further integration with our internal systems.”
David Wells, TFS Direct.
