The Highways Agency has renewed its contract with supply chain management specialist Norbert Dentressangle until 2015.
Norbert Dentressangle was appointed by The Highways Agency in 2009 to establish and manage a national distribution centre for the storage and distribution of equipment and materials to roadwork sites throughout the country.
Occupying a 100,000 square foot dedicated area within Norbert Dentressangle’s modern shared-user site at Telford, the operation involves the storage of around 1,500 SKUs – from matrix signs to nuts and bolts – and the distribution of these items, either to the Highways Agency’s regional maintenance contractors or direct to roadside projects.
In addition, the Highways Agency has recently extended Norbert Dentressangle’s remit to support the consolidation of its stock of gantries – the structures which support roadside matrix signs – within the national distribution operation. Norbert Dentressangle has been responsible for collecting the gantries from a number of previous storage locations and integrating these assets into the existing storage and distribution operation. With each gantry weighing up to eight tonnes, the company has invested in additional equipment, including cranes and flatbed vehicles, along with the training of staff in specialist handling techniques.
The company is providing an additional 50,000 square feet of storage space within its shared user facility in West Hallam to accommodate the extra stock. Inventory at both Telford and West Hallam is managed centrally by Norbert Dentressangle using a live stock management system.
Stewart Young, the Highways Agency’s national logistics manager, said: “Since appointing Norbert Dentressangle as our national logistics partner, we have worked closely with them to introduce a range of improvements which have significantly reduced the lead time to deliver equipment and materials to roadworks sites, helping us to improve the planning and execution of maintenance and repair works.
“Norbert Dentressangle also rose to the challenge of integrating our stock of gantries into the national storage and distribution operation, quickly learning the relevant techniques and bringing in the right equipment to ensure that the project was implemented on time and within budget.”
