Foodservice provider Bidvest 3663 is now fully operational from its brand new depot in Chepstow.
The new facility is the business’s largest regional distribution centre and comes as part of a multi-million pound investment plan to bolster its local depot network and support customer growth.
Due to continued sales growth in the South West and Wales, Bidvest 3663 has consolidated its Bristol and Severnbridge depots into the new 170,000sqft distribution centre in Chepstow and relocated its Swansea depot to a newly refurbished site nearby. The Chepstow depot will serve customers throughout South Wales and the West Country and support other Bidvest 3663 sites with its extensive frozen product range. The new Swansea site will continue to support the valued customer base in West Wales.
The new site represents Bidvest 3663’s significant investment in its customers with the business implementing a series of cutting-edge technologies to make their lives easier. The depot will stock around 5,100 product lines and a fleet of 30 space-efficient vehicles will make approximately 1,700 deliveries per week, distributing over 70,000 items. To maximise efficiency, the planned voice-picking technology will ensure consistent order accuracy and a new customer support system will handle incoming calls.
Dave Hodgson, Bidvest 3663 midlands managing director said: “These new distribution facilities are part of our investment strategy for growth based on boosting service levels and future-proofing our local and national depot network.
“We chose the new sites as we are committed to having a comprehensive customer offering in Wales. We also wanted to make sure that we were able to retain the exceptional workforce from two top performing depots. Recent new account wins, securing category supply agreements with leading regional and national customers and growth from the independent sector means that improving efficiencies and delivering top customer service is more important than ever. By investing in a high specification depot with state-of-the-art facilities and amalgamating teams from Bristol and Severnbridge, we aim to meet these challenges and push service levels even further.”
Reducing environmental impact is a priority across Bidvest 3663 and incorporating energy efficiencies was an important part of the development. Chepstow is the first of the wholesaler’s new sites to have solar panels on the roof which deliver electricity to the depot and back to the grid. Other green solutions include motion sensor lighting to save electricity, a highly efficient cooling system and fast close warehouse doors to maintain temperature control, all of which will be monitored by a computerised system.
The Chepstow and Swansea depot projects follow recent site openings in Wakefield and Bicester. They further evidence Bidvest 3663’s commitment to invest in ways to provide outstanding customer service – a principle that underpins its growth plan. The investment is part of an ongoing programme, which includes updating Bidvest 3663’s nationwide infrastructure, multi-temperature vehicle fleet and IT systems alongside a number of potential acquisitions.
