FOODSTUFFS distribution centre in Hornby was officially opened by Prime Minister John Key last month.
Constructed by Calder Stewart Industries and designed by local engineering firm, Engenium, the building underwent a rigorous design process to ensure it achieved the highest earthquake building standards. The greenfield project essentially connects an additional 31,587m2 to the existing 14,000m2 ambient warehouse at Hornby and consolidates operations from the old Papanui DC in Christchurch. This DC sits alongside a 4,000m2 temperature controlled DC already present on the site.
“The new DC will be servicing 300 New World, PAK’nSAVE, Four Square and On the Spot stores throughout the South Island,” says John Mullins, General Manager Supply Chain, Foodstuffs South Island Ltd. “From as far afield as Collingwood and Stewart Island the distribution network sees 200 trucks leave the DC every day and travel a massive six million kilometres around the country each year.”
The relocation of 200 Papanui staff across town to the new site at Hornby in late 2014 was a great achievement with staff now enjoying the benefits of a new purpose built building. Highlights include a full service cafeteria and modern amenities such as exclusive use of an onsite gym.
According to Mullins 70% of goods supplied to the supermarkets comes from the DC with the remaining 30% going direct from suppliers.
“An effective supply chain requires multiple components to work in harmony and we would be remiss in not taking this opportunity to thank our suppliers who have worked with us throughout the development of Hornby and transition from Papanui. Getting the new DC stocked and the state of the art fulfilment software functioning correctly was always going to be a challenge and we wouldn’t have been able to be so successful if we didn’t have the support and cooperation of our supplier community,” acknowledges Mullins.
“Additionally, our distribution centre staff has played a very important role in the set-up of the new DC, in particular assisting with the transition of inventory and order picking from the older Papanui site to Hornby.”
