Trucks provide flexibility
August 1st 2011 Crown tackles the storage requirements of Oxford University Press supplying order
pickers and powered pallet trucks
Oxford University Press (OUP) moved to a new
distribution centre at ProLogis Park, Kettering, at the
beginning of 2011. This brought floor space up to a total
of 410,000 sq ft. Crown Lift Trucks won the tender to supply a fleet
of TSP 6000 VNA man-up order pickers supported by WT 3000
powered pallet trucks with operator
platform. The new trucks also incorporate
InfoLink – Crown's productivity
management system.
OUP is not quite as straightforward as
similar-sized commercial organisations. It
publishes in more than 50 countries in a
variety of languages, for all levels, and
across virtually every academic discipline.
These facts are interesting from a
distribution perspective, because it means
that OUP has to hold a lot of stock that is
very slow moving.
The former distribution base at Corby
had two book stores operating with fixed
cranes, one of which was coming to the
end of its useable life.While this format
was suitable when installed, the customer
profile has changed dramatically over the
last ten years, whereby customers can now
call in and order just one sheet of music.
The new site needed to be more practical
with room to grow.
The new distribution centre is an important part of OUP's
operations. The current inventory stands at 28 million books and
counting. Some 6.5 million books are dispatched each and every
month with 500 tonnes of large orders packed and shipped weekly.
The warehouse is close to its former base at Corby, but its
increased size and modern facilities give OUP greater flexibility
and the opportunity to improve efficiency.
Operating with fixed cranes had many pitfalls, including pinch
points in terms of storage and throughput. OUP decided to move
to VNA man-up order pickers, allowing new trucks to be added as
and when necessary.
The staff at OUP were heavily involved in the selection process.
OUP put together the required specification and asked
manufacturers to tender. A shortlist was drawn up and OUP
visited each manufacturer with a team of people which included
truck operators, engineering staff and managers. Following a
number of site visits and extensive testing,
the Crown TSP 6000 and WT 3000 were
chosen.
The TSP 6000 is said to be one of the
most advanced VNA trucks available today.
Along with manoeuvrability, driver comfort
was important to OUP, as one of the
warehouse operators involved in selecting
the truck, Graham Reed, explains:
"I've been working at OUP for over eight
years and coming away from the fixed
cranes at our previous site was quite a
change.When selecting the new fleet of
VNA trucks, comfort was obviously a high
priority. But the MoveControl seat gives
easy access and maximum support over
longer shifts.
"Of the manufacturers we looked at, the
Crown TSP 6000 felt the most compact and
easy to operate. The cabin is a very pleasant
place to sit with great all-round visibility. In
fact, I'd say it's the best VNA truck available
today," Reed concludes.
OUP's fleet of TSP 6000 VNA order pickers and supporting WT
3000 powered pallet trucks have been equipped with InfoLink.
Crown's InfoLink System features wireless technology that allows
users to identify the performance and productivity of each truck,
facility and shift period in real-time. Insightful reports help reduce
paperwork and simplify fleet management, saving both time and
money.
"At our old site, our engineering team logged data manually
using spreadsheets," says Elwyn Roberts, infrastructure manager
for OUP, adding: "InfoLink allows us to collect far more data,
much more efficiently, and the accompanying FleetStats software
presents reports in a clear and easy to understand format. This
fleet management system provides us with greater discipline and
helps us to ensure best practice is always carried out."
By using FleetStats in conjunction with InfoLink, Crown can
offer customers an array of information on the true operational
costs within their business. In fact, because the system operates in
real time, customers can see the cost of damage to each truck as
and when an impact occurs before they've been invoiced.
With 200 or so people operating within the warehouse and a
further 100 working in onsite offices, the new Kettering
distribution centre is an important move for OUP, as Roberts
explains: "Not only do we have more space here, we have a flexible
site that should prove beneficial for future operations. The new
Crown fleet has added to this flexibility, bringing with it enhanced
productivity and greater
efficiency." More articles from Crown Lift Trucks Ltd: | 
