The Widdowson group announces major contract with Lands End

The Widdowson Group, one of the UK's leading logistics solution suppliers has announced a major contract with Lands' End Direct Merchants UK to provide a logistics solution for its clothing and footwear ranges. The contract, which covers a 24 month period, is now well underway providing extensive warehouse operations together with daily movements of stock.

Based in Oakham, Land's End is a market leading company selling quality clothing and footwear through its mail order catalogues and on-line via its website. The growing success of the organisation meant that it outgrew its own storage depot and put out a tender to several local companies for remote storage of pristine goods.

Frances Bullock, Director of Operations for Lands' End was tasked with sourcing a suitable logistics partner. She awarded the contract to Widdowsons and explains the reason behind her decision, “The Widdowson Group shares the same values as Lands' End. They are a professional, family run business that cares about each and every customer.

“They have pulled out all the stops for us and are now storing far more of our products than we originally forecast, responding to everything faster than we would have thought possible. This shows great flexibility.”

At present there are some 94,000 cartons of Lands' End product stored in Widdowson's extensive Leicestershire warehouses – a 40% increase in the forecasted volume due to Lands' End growth. Cartons arrive at Glenfield

directly from the manufacturer, they are unloaded, labelled with a unique barcode, palletised and stored.

As part of the contract, Widdowson organises a daily movement of replenishment stock to Lands' End at Oakham. The request for stock is accepted by the Widdowson Group as an electronic file transfer directly from Sears Holdings in America (parent company of Lands' End). Cartons are picked and dispatched by 5am for an early morning delivery to Lands' End.

John Hawksworth, Commercial Director of the Widdowson Group is proud of the way that his company has risen to the escalating challenge of providing a logistics solution for Lands' End. He comments, “The award of this prestigious contract demonstrates our ability to offer a complete logistics service which is both highly flexible and supremely efficient. This marks a major milestone for us, strengthening our presence in the integrated logistics marketplace.”

He continues, “As a result of our strong collaboration with Lands' End we have produced dramatic results. It is now our intention to further explore ways in which we can develop our relationship to provide added value.”

The Widdowson Group head office is located at Mill Lane Industrial Estate, Kirby Road, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8DX. Telephone: 0116 232 2666 or email: johnh@widdowson-group.com web: www.widdowson-group.co.uk