SuperGroup becomes 3PL

   Sometimes buying a new warehouse management system doesn’t cut it, so after the problems it had last year the U.K.-based fashion retailing chain SuperGroup has decided to become a third-party logistics company.
   SuperGroup entered a two-year contract with logistics firm Wincanton, which will help with the development of its supply chain from a new retail distribution warehouse at Gloucester Business Park.
   Wincanton stepped in during last Christmas trading peak to help SuperGroup, which admitted to struggling due to the installation of a new warehouse management system (WMS). Wincanton set up a temporary distribution system at the vacant Gloucester site in five days, and helped SuperGroup reach order fulfillment commitments during a record sales season.
   SuperGroup is now putting £1.5 million ($2.4 million) into the Gloucester site to develop its own state-of-the-art supply chain hub and will shift retail distribution operations to this site from its nearby warehouses.
   By the end of its investment and the partnership, SuperGroup hopes to have developed a WMS that can support its multi-channel businesses around various outlets, concessions, e-commerce platforms, and overseas wholesale operations. Then, the company will look to create a licensing structure within the WMS to offer it to others and get back its initial investment costs for Gloucester.
   Tim Owrid, head of logistics at SuperGroup, said the company is looking to reshape its distribution operations to meet expanding requirements and wants to bring this in-house so it can expand future revenue streams in a variety of ways. – Geoff Whiting