Cannock operation opens

A major investment extends warehouse to handle UKwide distribution of Unilever's Homecare and Ambient Food ranges, creating 75 new jobs

DHL Supply Chain and Unilever are celebrating the official opening of the fast moving consumer goods company's extended Cannock warehousing operation.

Marking the culmination of a 21 month project, the expanded automated high bay facility is now capable of housing well over 100,000 pallets, allowing DHL to hold Unilever UK & Ireland's entire Homecare product range and its Ambient Foods line, from a single location.

The ambitious project has seen a substantial extension to the building, as well as upgrades to the IT infrastructure, in total creating approximately 75 new jobs to operate the enlarged facility.

Unusually, the automated high bay warehouse combines a range of conveyors, elevators, goods-in and dispatch areas, with low bay warehousing to manage separate Ambient Foods and Homecare pick halls. An Automatic Vehicle Offloading facility accommodates transport from Unilever's North West Homecare factories.

Bringing two of Unilever's product categories under one roof allows customers to order and receive crosscategory deliveries, bringing greater efficiencies for the customer and reducing carbon emissions by taking trucks off the road.

"We're delighted to be extending our partnership with Unilever," said DHL Supply Chain's CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Graham Inglis. "Having operated the Cannock operation since 2005, we were always mindful of the site's potential to accommodate more capacity and it's exciting to see this come to fruition today. With the enlarged Cannock operation we are looking forward to deliver even greater levels of service for Unilever going forward."