Roper Rhodes, whose brands comprise Roper Rhodes, Laura Ashley, R2, Tavistock and Trade, is experiencing record-breaking service speeds after investing in its operational infrastructure and consolidating its warehouse space into a single, state-of-the-art facility.
The family-owned business invested £8 million in its new national distribution centre, which became fully operational in April, 2017. This saw the company consolidate all of its warehouse space, previously split across a number of locations, into a 200,000 sq ft facility. The 14,000 pallet warehousing space, two-shift system and a stock holding of £10.5 million, has meant the business has been able to increase efficiency and process more daily orders than ever before.
While the heart of its operations remains in Bath, where Roper Rhodes has been based since it was founded in 1979, the new national distribution centre is located in a prime position on a nine-acre site in Portbury, Bristol. It is in close proximity to the M5 and M4 motorway networks, making it an ideal location from which to operate its nationwide delivery service to retailers across the UK.
Roper Rhodes’ national distribution centre also houses a 7,000 sq ft UK customer training centre and suite of showrooms where a huge selection of new and bestselling products from each of its brands is displayed.
Simon Taylor, Marketing Director at Roper Rhodes, said: “We’re thrilled that the investment in our national distribution centre is already benefitting our customers. It has enabled us to increase efficiency and has positioned us to be the best in market for customer service.”
Picture caption: Left-right: Leigh Leather, Group Sales Director, John Wright, Operations Director, and Simon Taylor, Marketing Director, outside Roper Rhodes’ national distribution centre.
