On the dot and in the store - Europe-wide

Jan Obarski might well be satisfied with his appearance at the Spoga + Gafa trade fair. At this event the managing director of a Polish start-up company sold 10 000 novel ceramic grills to a French DIY chain. Production is already running at top speed. High time to think about transporting the goods. After all, the products must be in the stores well in time for the beginning of the 2012 summer season, then be continuously available until the end of the season as well. Penalties for breach of contract should the deliveries fail to arrive on time or the product be out of stock can amount to twenty per cent of their value. A good business deal can quickly turn into a loss-maker when margins are tightly calculated. This is Obarski’s first dealing with a French customer. Leaving aside the language barrier, he is not familiar either with the local systems of distribution or with standard practices there in terms of delivery windows and notification. Nor does he have any personnel of his own in France because his structure is so streamlined. So who will ensure that the grills are regularly replaced in the stores? As for the seasonal change in the autumn, the managing director prefers not to think about that just yet. This is precisely why internationally active providers of logistical services such as Dachser have become specialists in the complex requirements of the DIY industry. Consequently Dachser, for example, carries out deliveries to 18 000 DIY stores throughout Europe using an industry-specific system – on a daily basis and within strictly defined time windows. This is only possible with the help of a great deal of know-how and highly qualified staff on the spot. For instance, Dachser has eight depots of its own in Poland, and as many as 66 in France. Synergies represent an essential part of Dachser’s method in its seamless DIY network and are happily passed on to customers. “In Dachser’s global network the goods flow constantly and in tune with the needs of the market from manufacturer to POS, then back again at the change of season. You must imagine it as a pipeline with a variety of regulating valves,” is how the process is described by Ralf Meistes, DIY-Logistics division manager at Dachser. “We optimise the complete value chain for our customers, from procurement and distribution logistics to inventory-geared warehouse management. The result is the development of a full tailor-made service from a variety of modules.” Merchandising services at the…