DHL has announced the extension of its existing contract with British retail group House of Fraserto a £33.7 million (€36.5 million) multi-channel deal until 2012.
The extended agreement comprises the added inclusion of the retailer’s e-commerce businessand recently launched wedding list service, both of which were awarded to DHL’s specialist fashionunit in March 2009. House of Fraser operates 63 stores and has annual sales of more than £1.25billion.
Mark Holland, Supply Chain Director of House of Fraser, said: “I am delighted to extend thecommercial agreement between DHL and House of Fraser. DHL’s existing knowledge and understanding ofour business enabled them to deliver a strong multi-channel solution to a demanding deadline withno disruption to this key part of our business.”
DHL’s existing six-year relationship with House of Fraser provided a solid platform tosupport a multi-channel strategy. Both companies worked in a partnership to create an e-commercesolution that was incorporated into House of Fraser’s supply chain operations for its 63 UK andIrish stores. Target service levels were achieved immediately from the on-line go-live date of 2March 2009, plus 99.8 per cent of first time consumer deliveries, according to the company’sstatement.
Paul Richardson, Managing Director UK, DHL Supply Chain Fashion said: “The new commercialagreement is a commitment from House of Fraser which further emphasizes the strength of thispartnership. This is a dynamic relationship whereby DHL manages the complete end-to-end supplychain covering inbound logistics, multi-channel operations including ecommerce, national transport,warehousing and vendor management. The integrated solution provides a reliable platform for Houseof Fraser’s further growth and development.”
The integrated solution optimized existing warehouse and labor resources at the retailer’s16,723 sqm National Distribution Center in Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, creating significant costsavings and cutting an average of three days out of the supply chain to support House of Fraser’srequirement for increased speed to market. The multi-channel operation was set up within athree-month deadline, which involved the transfer and integration of the on-line business from aprevious supplier.
DHL now manages over 30 million units annually from the Milton Keynes site which spans Houseof Fraser’s renowned range of products across several market segments and brand names, includingfashion, beauty, homewares, perfume, linen and jewellery.
