Deals Direct feels the need for speed

Linde material handling equipment is helping DealsDirect.com.au surf a developing tsunami of market growth in internet shopping.

The company has successively outgrown four warehouses and delivered over seven million parcels to more than a million happy customers since it was founded in October 2004.

Claiming to be Australia’s favourite discount department store, DealsDirect.com.au offers 8,000 big brand names and quality products at heavily discounted prices in 24 categories.

Its range includes toys, manchester, wine, electrical appliances, homewares, furniture, outdoors, sports and fitness apparel.

Not content with that offering, the company has broadened its online presence with additional sites www.supermarketdeals.com.au and www.dealme.com.au

Although keen pricing is an important part of the company’s success, DealsDirect.com.au also relies heavily on fast delivery – next day dispatch on over 95 per cent of items it sells.

At Ingleburn on Sydney’s south western fringe a fleet of 35 Linde reach trucks, electric counterbalance forklifts, pallet movers and a walkie stacker help DealsDirect.com.au keep faith with its customers.

The equipment operates in a massive 40,000 square metre distribution centre, unloading trucks and containers, placing goods into storage on racking, then order picking for outbound goods.

“With the help of our Linde fleet we are dispatching over a million items a year,” Distribution Centre Manager, Sharon Bakewell-Hill said. “Over the Christmas peak our daily rate gets up to 25,000 parcels.

“We chose to use Linde electric forklifts and reach trucks and even on extended shifts such as 6am to 6pm they have no problem getting through the work on a single overnight recharge.

“We work very closely with Linde. One of their experts advised us on the best way to optimise the use of our battery recharging areas in our peak periods.

“As well as our base fleet of Linde long term rental equipment we begin to ramp up our numbers from August each year. That adds another 15 Linde short term rental counterbalance forklifts and reach trucks.

“By October we are at maximum capacity handling incoming containers and road freight on pallets. Then the focus switches to dispatch, with the number of parcels per day steadily increasing.”

Such demands make the relationship with a material handling equipment supplier crucial to success. DealsDirect.com.au rates its Linde connection as excellent.

“I really cannot fault the relationship we have with Linde,” Sharon Bakewell-Hill said. “We have a dedicated account manager who understands our business inside and out. He’s watched us grow and we totally trust his judgment.

“Because we are a dynamic, growing company I quite often give him a call and tell him where the business is heading.

“He comes out and advises on the correct equipment to cope with those changes and then organises demonstrations and test sessions for us.

“One of the major factors in equipment selection is operator feedback. After all, it is their comfort, their safety and their productivity that is at stake. With Linde we know we won’t have issues.”

DealsDirect.com.au has looked at other equipment makes, but can’t fault the combination of the Linde equipment and the support behind it.

“Unplanned downtime has been absolutely minimal and the routine servicing is always scheduled to fit in with our operational needs,” Sharon Bakewell-Hill said.

“When we have a sudden and urgent need for extra equipment we find it’s always available. I’ve made a call one day and had the additional Linde reach trucks or forklifts onsite and working the next day.

“Ours is a young business and everyone is passionate about what we are doing and how we are growing and adding resources to meet customer expectations.”

The Linde reach trucks, forklifts and pallet movers going about their busy roles in the DealsDirect.com.au DC have always been highly visible.

Now they are set to become even more “high-vis”. Starting with the latest intake of reach trucks, counterbalance forklifts and pedestrian pallet trucks all new Linde units are supplied in DealsDirect.com.au’s corporate colour … PINK.