Imperial Opens Next Multi-user Warehouse

Imperial has opened its latest multi-user warehouse, located in Werne, Germany. The new facility provides an under-cover storage area of 22,000 sq.m., with racking for over 21000 pallets and 11,000 parts bins already installed, and over 8,500 sqm of floor storage space. 

In addition, the facility features 24 truck doors, a yard and parking area of 7000 sq.m., container loading and unloading facilities and a paperless order picking system. The location of the facility provides easy access to Germany’s A1 and A2 autobahns, and is well-served by courier and express companies. Adjacent land is available for potential future expansion. 

One major client has already transferred its logistics operations to the new Imperial facility, from nearby manufacturing sites. The Imperial team is now responsible for receiving, warehousing and processing of hundreds of inbound lines, combining components from external suppliers with finished goods from the customer’s own production facilities. Imperial is also handling inventory control for outbound lines, as well as providing frequent trailer shuttles to and from manufacturing sites. 

Imperial is employing Lean management methodology to drive efficiencies, and all processes undergo regular analysis to facilitate cost reduction and cycle time improvements for clients. Says Christian Lohmann, Vice President Commercial Industrial of Imperial Logistics International: “Quality, safety, and precision are paramount to today’s industrial client, and we are committed to continuously enhancing our logistics offering to enable our clients to strengthen their own customer service.”

The Industrial sector has been identified as a key target market for Imperial, whose integrated service portfolio is designed to cater for a wide diversity of product types and dimensions. “No product is too large for our systems and facilities,” adds Lohmann. He continues: “This new facility is a further expansion of our proven multi-user warehousing concept, which is now attracting major blue-chip clients. 

The increased scale of operations we achieve through such a shared facility justifies top-quality resources including the latest technological solutions. “Sharing facilities and resources across multiple users also balances out individual clients’ seasonal fluctuations, maintaining optimal utilisation year-round. That enables us to operate a pay-as-you-use billing model, reducing user costs and assisting budgeting and cash flow. In addition, we are able to pass on savings through consolidated purchasing of packaging materials.” 

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