Logistics company expands in the Netherlands

Menlo Worldwide, a warehouse, distribution and supply chain specialist, has announced an expansion of its European multi-client logistics centre in Holland to support growth in Brabant region.

Menlo Worldwide has announced a major expansion of its European multi-client logistics centre in Eersel, Holland, where completion of a 100,000 square foot annex has increased total available capacity of the facility to 350,000 square feet (35,000 sq metres).

The expansion, the third for the facility since it opened in 1997, added 30 percent more space for inventory management, fulfillment operations, warehouse, distribution and supply chain management services.

It addresses Menlo's growing business volumes, and the strong demand for outsourced logistics services in the Brabant region of the Netherlands, which is centrally located in a strategic triangle of major European air and ocean gateways.

Eersel is ideally suited for inbound and outbound distribution throughout Europe, noted Todd Johnson, Menlo's vice president, international.

It's a flexible operation that benefits from a good labour market and offers a full range of logistics management services for the advanced distribution strategies required by today's global enterprises.

Eersel is Menlo's largest operation in Europe.

It serves eight major global customers in industries as diverse as apparel and footwear, sporting goods, medical equipment, contract manufacturing for consumer electronics, computer networking, GPS navigation and surveying systems and high-performance automotive products.

The facility currently employs over 200 people and expects to add an additional 100 workers over the next year.

Primary services provided at the Eersel centre include: Bonded warehousing, inventory control and supply chain flow management.

Receiving, storage, pick and pack, shipping, customer service.

Product staging, fulfillment and distribution management.

Just-in-time or emergency response delivery.

Transportation network design and operations management including freight invoicing, audit and payment.

Value-added services such as assembly, kitting, labeling, product customization and returns management.

The facility is equipped with the full range of Menlo technology and information services platforms supporting transportation management and warehouse operations, including sophisticated activity analysis, measurement, reporting and forecasting tools; inventory tracking and control; freight audit and freight payment and supply chain visibility systems.

As a multi-client site, customers benefit from sharing of best practices, and the leveraging of systems and operating assets across many clients to improve asset use and reduce costs for all.

The Eersel operation also is one of Menlo's leading sites practicing Lean warehousing.

Pioneered by Toyota in automotive manufacturing, this process improvement methodology is suited as well for inventory management and distribution work.

It relies on the expertise and knowledge of employees who do the work, providing them with a framework and problem solving tools to continually analyse work processes, identify wasteful practices, and then create plans to permanently remove waste and improve efficiency.

In the Lean model, plans are continuously reviewed and adjusted through Kaizen events - essentially a formal, structured re-evaluation of a work activity.

These events are conducted by teams of employees, facilitated by a manager.

The teams review their original assessment, going back through the activity and how it is performed, looking for further opportunities to streamline and refine their work processes to remove waste.

Kaizen events are not one-time exercises, they are conducted on an ongoing basis with the client and are the methodology by which Menlo's Eersel employees - and customers - find and then implement opportunities to improve efficiency.

Lean provides the foundation for true business transformation, said Arthur van Gerven, Menlo's general manager at Eersel.

Our customers are embracing this as a clear advantage.

We have excellent participation and support from our employees, who are the real experts when it comes to our work processes and making them better for customers.

Eersel is one of five major logistics operating centres Menlo has in Europe.

The others are Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Hahn, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary.

All Menlo's European operations are able to service customers across its key vertical markets, which are automotive, high-tech, consumer goods and industrial products.

Including the Netherlands, Menlo Worldwide has dedicated facilities, infrastructure and personnel providing contract logistics services in 20 counties.

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