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04/05/2010
Outsourced fulfilment service will help the UK’s largest music equipment retailer grow its
multichannel business
iForce, the UK outsourced multichannel specialist logistics operator, has gone live with a
multichannel fulfilment service for Digital Village, the UK’s largest music equipment
retailer.
From its Milton Park fulfilment centre, near Oxford, iForce has commenced a five-year
contract to replenish Digital Village’s eight stores located around the country, provide
fulfilment for orders taken from the retailer’s online site – DV247.com – and to fulfil
orders placed by schools and educational authorities for their musical instruments.
Specialist trading requirements
For over 30 years Digital Village has been supplying everything needed to make and
record music, including musical instruments and recording studio equipment. With yearon-
year growth, its business is expanding rapidly, particularly through online sales. “We
are a true multichannel business,” said Paul Dennis, chief executive of Digital Village. “We
trade through our Digital Village stores, through our DV247.com website and, through our
Music Village trading name, we are also the largest educational musical equipment
supplier in the country.”
Digital Village considered keeping its distribution in-house, looking at various options to
expand its warehousing to accommodate its growth. “As we came to talk more to iForce,
its professional approach led us to believe that outsourcing to a 3PL [third-party logistics
operator] was the only option for us,” said Paul. “It meant that we could continue to
expand and there would be no limit on that expansion.”
With operations now underway, iForce is now fulfilling substantial order volumes for
Digital Village and its ability to scale its service is an important factor in facilitating
further growth, not just to the UK but also into mainland Europe where Digital Village is
already strong and is looking to expand even further.
Customer satisfaction is paramount to Digital Village and this was another crucial factor in
choosing iForce as a partner, as Dennis explained: “You can’t fail to be impressed by
iForce’s client list. We were very encouraged that it is working with retailers like Boots,
Sainsbury’s and John Lewis – companies that pride themselves on delivering on their
promise. That’s our philosophy: we want to deliver on our promise.”
Unique fulfilment needs
Digital Village’s business presents a number of fulfilment challenges. First comes the huge
diversity in the retailer’s product range: anything from a plectrum to a limited edition
Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, a violin to a piano, a microphone to a mixing desk. Many
of these products are custom-made and high value.
They all have to be put away, picked and packed by iForce in a manner that assures safe
and secure delivery. The educational business in particular will see a large number and a varied mix of items in each order.
Deploying its expertise to pick and pack such a diverse range of products, iForce then
uses its in-house carrier management system to manage the routing of the deliveries
though the most appropriate carrier - whether the order is for a school, somebody’s
home or to the retail store.
Another key aspect is an ability to deal with the dual peaks in the education sector: one
in February and March when Education Authority budgets are spent prior to the new
financial year; and the second when schools return from summer holidays in September.
iForce offers Digital Village the flexibility to meet these peaks with its ability to scale its
operations and staff accordingly.
Dennis concluded: “The staff at iForce are so professional, friendly and caring that we are
able to work easily together. I’m not staying awake at night wondering if it’s all going to
work: it is working very well.”