Spring 2010

An additional 70,000 sq ft warehouse has been taken on by fulfilment specialist GSI Commerce not far from its UK headquarters in Manchester. Iain Beveridge, vice-president of European operations, says it will be used in conjunction with the existing premises, forming a two-site 'cluster'. 'We won't be using all the additional space from day one,' he told F&E, 'but it will give us scope to grow.'

The original warehouse at Heywood now has 220,000 sq ft of space, following a £750,000 extension to its existing mezzanine level.

GSI has also reconfigured its operations to allow later order cut-off times. For some customers the company can now accept orders up to 4pm for despatch the same day. This allows for impulse buying right through and beyond the lunchtime peak.

Beveridge accepts that the new offer stops short of same-day despatch of early evening purchases, but describes the current arrangements as 'a stage on a journey', and adds that further developments are in the pipeline.

 

GSI's UK business reports a 35 per cent year on year growth in the volume of consignments shipped weekly during 2009, and says it has reduced contacts per order by 33 per cent at the same time. Beveridge attributes this improvement to a range of measures to provide better consumer information at the outset and during the delivery process.

Paradoxically, customer contact has been a major GSI strength since the Zendor days, but Beveridge points out that 'where is my order' calls are among the biggest cost items in fulfilment. 'We're determined to bring that cost down.'

GSI says it now handles fulfilment for around 200 brands.