Merford Acoustic Materials transforms warehouse

In the Benelux region, Merford Acoustic Materials is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to stocking an extensive range of acoustic materials. Because of that, we can help our customers find the products that they need, when they need them. And that's something they really appreciate, as evidenced by Merford Acoustic Materials' sustained growth over the last few years. Faced with mounting demand, especially via the online store Akoestiekwinkel.nl, the time had come to give the warehouse a much-needed upgrade. Carola van der Rijt, logistics manager at Merford, wrote her thesis on the design of a new warehouse layout to accommodate more and larger pallets. Her recommendations culminated in a new project – to put her own plan in motion. This summer, Van der Rijt and her colleagues set to work.

Large pallets

'For a few years now, we've been storing some of our stock on larger pallets. Because they're larger, we can cut more efficiently. The warehouse wasn't set up for that ten years ago, neither were the fire-safety installations,' explains Van der Rijt. We had no option but to store boxes elsewhere, which had a knock-on effect on our stock management. Van der Rijt continues: 'We got to the point where we really had to do something about the layout. That eventually led to recommendations for the upgrade, so that we'd have enough space for the large pallets.'

Logistical challenge[/span

Van der Rijt and a team of colleagues set to work on the transformation in week 32, when the warehouse was closed for the summer break. 'Basically, we rotated the shelves 90 degrees so that we would have enough room for the large pallets. We also upgraded the sprinkler systems. We had to store our stock somewhere else for a while, so that we actually had enough room to make all the changes. That was a huge logistical challenge, but we pulled it off. The warehouse was fully operational again by week 34,' says Van der Rijt.

Delivery times

Having all our stock of acoustic materials available in the warehouse has already had a huge impact on our delivery times. And now we can start preparing our large sheets straight away. The only thing we have to do is cut them to the shape and size that our customers want – whether they want just two or two hundred. Want to know more? Feel free to get in touch. Need acoustic materials for a future project? Feel free to get in touch with our team. We'll help you find exactly the right material that you need.