Counting the days til Christmas

26 Nov 2015 Counting the days til Christmas

The evenings are getting darker and colder and it’s the time of year when the pressure of finding the ideal Christmas gifts is upon us.  But it’s not just Santa and his elves who are busy preparing for their festive deliveries.  At furniture logistics specialist Andrew Porter Limited, work is already well underway to ensure that thousands of Christmas shoppers throughout the UK receive their purchases in time for the season’s celebrations.

Celebrating its 20th year in furniture logistics in 2015, Andrew Porter Limited provides a wide range of services to furniture manufacturers, importers and retailers all around the country, from its headquarters in Lancashire.  It offers everything from retail delivery and warehousing to a fully outsourced logistics service and clients include HSL, PerfectHome, Dormeo and Sweet Dreams.

But at this time of year it is home deliveries which are of vital importance to Andrew Porter Limited, its clients, and their customers awaiting their purchases.

The firm carries out approximately 1,100 white glove home deliveries per week throughout the year, using two-man crews.  In the run-up to Christmas, this figure will more than double.  Managing director, Tim Aspey, explains how the company prepares for the huge additional demand on resources and ensures that the Christmas rush all goes to plan.

“Missing any pre-Christmas home delivery is simply not an option,” Tim says.

“Any furniture purchase is always emotive for a customer.  They are generally big-ticket items and the customer will be looking forward to having their new items within their home.  They may have disposed of other items of furniture to accommodate the new ones and will be eagerly awaiting their delivery.

“In the run up to Christmas, all these elements are heightened.  People will be preparing to welcome family or guests into their home and want to ensure their new purchases are in place.  Any failed delivery can be emotionally distressing for the customer, which in turn impacts the retailer and manufacturer.  It just can’t happen.”

But how can a business cope with such a huge increased demand without mistakes happening?  The business model of Andrew Porter Limited works efficiently, allowing it a wealth of additional resources for its furniture logistics division in the approach to Christmas.

“When Andrew Porter Limited first began life more than 40 years ago, the firm was purely a removals and storage company.  We have grown extensively since then and launched our furniture logistics division in 1995.  We also have other specialist relocations arms to the business,” Tim says.

“The way the markets work means that our domestic and corporate relocations sides are quiet in the run-up to Christmas, the time when our furniture logistics division is at its busiest.  This means we are able to reassign removals crews and vehicles to assist with furniture logistics.

“Not only does this give us extra capacity very quickly, it benefits customers as well.  Customers can be sure that it is always fully trained Andrew Porter Limited staff who are handling and delivering their goods, rather than agency staff or vehicles.”

All Andrew Porter Limited home delivery crews undergo intensive in-house training before delivering furniture to customers’ homes.  The training involves customer care, practicalities of assembling the various products and effective manual handling techniques to ensure that both products and the customers’ home and belongings are not damaged during delivery.  Elements of the training take place in a mock two-storey house, built into the Andrew Porter Limited warehouse, so crews can gain valuable real-life experience without having to practice in customers’ homes.

“All our removals crews are fully trained in furniture handling, and will undergo additional training on issues unique to home deliveries before their roles are reassigned,” Tim says.

“Our pre-Christmas rush begins in early October, when companies begin preparing for extra stockholding.  It then increases steadily and reaches its peak throughout December, right up until Christmas Eve. 

“Our 300,000 sq ft purpose-built warehouse already operates 24 hours throughout the week and we are about to launch an extra daytime weekend shift, taking our operation to seven days a week.

“We have extra crews on prior to Christmas as well, to help with unloading, picking, loading and generally helping keep the place clean and tidy.  It’s a busy time for everyone, but it’s always satisfying to see a job done well.”

For more information on Andrew Porter Limited’s white glove home delivery services, contact Tim on aspeyt@andrewporterltd.co.uk

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