HEMA: ‘Van Duuren’s good communication and preparation are unparalleled’
“I am extremely satisfied with the way that the staff in Vianen manage our deliveries,” says Onno Middelhoven of HEMA. This renowned chain of stores puts the transport of goods to their stores in Barcelona and Madrid in the hands of Van Duuren. “Van Duuren came up with the best bid for our tender, and that seems to be the case in practice.”
Van Duuren trucks leave the HEMA distribution centre Lage Weide in Utrecht three times per week for the stores in Barcelona and Madrid. ‘We have drawn up a cleverly thought out delivery schedule in consultation with Onno and the Spanish store managers,’ relates Stef Blommaart. ‘The stores are located in the city centres, so we are tied to slot times. Of course it’s also important that we arrive at a time that is convenient for the people at the store itself. We have even agreed with one store manager that the driver opens the store in the mornings.’
Middelhoven is very pleased with this form of customized service. ‘Van Duuren has been delivering for us since August last year, and I wanted to evaluate whether our staff were satisfied with how the deliveries had been handled. Stef and I recently made a tour of our Spanish stores. The reactions of 95 per cent of the store managers were entirely positive about the service.’ ‘The few suggestions that were made have been addressed,’ adds Jeroen van Duuren. ‘HEMA and Van Duuren have implemented a small number of improvements in order to save costs.’
Bank holidays
According to Blommaart, the further optimization of delivery schedules will continue to be the subject of attention in the future. ‘It is naturally our work to be thinking continually about this,’ he explains. ‘Furthermore, the assignment that we have been given by HEMA demands a great deal of precision from our planners. They are constantly alert to the turnaround times and the correct reporting of deliveries to the stores. The staff also take into account the large number of bank holidays in Spain. All this to ensure that the right product is in the shops at the right time.’ Middelhoven appreciates the fact that despite the tight delivery schedules there is always room for flexibility.
‘We were opening a store in Barcelona, and we wanted to do that with a great promotion. To do so it was necessary that the goods were in the shop not on the Monday morning but on the previous Saturday. All this was arranged after a quick discussion with Van Duuren. It’s exactly this personal contact and adequately reacting to developments that makes this working relationship so very valuable to me.’