Wolseley UK Awards NDC Contract to FKI Logistex
Wolseley UK has announced the award of the contract to build its national distribution centre. Plans for this development were announced in January 2005, and planning permission was obtained in May.

The national distribution centre, which will sit beside Wolseley UK's new headquarters at Spa Park in Leamington Spa, is currently being built by logistics specialist FKI Logistex. The project encompasses the building construction and materials handling system as a single contract.

The development comprises two buildings totalling 340,000 square feet in total with a connecting link-bridge, providing excellent use of the site and allowing vehicle access between the buildings. The project involves the consolidation of slower moving products within the Wolseley supply chain, currently handled by several existing regional distribution centres.

In addition, the new national distribution centre will act as a combined customer fulfilment centre for several existing Wolseley businesses. The design will deliver a capacity of approximately 30,000 pallet equivalents, and 100,000 tote bins, with daily despatch volumes at around 700 pallet equivalents for regional distribution centre cross docking to branches, and approximately 6,500 cartons for carrier despatch.

Wolseley UK has also selected global warehouse management system supplier HighJump, a 3M company, for the national distribution centre. FKI Logistex will provide the warehouse control system. The companies have established clear and logical boundaries and interfaces between the systems that will run the national distribution centre.

Building construction forms part of the integrated project. FKI Logistex's construction sub contractor for this project is Bowmer and Kirkland, with which it has completed recent projects including JCB's World Parts Centre at Uttoxeter.

Wolseley UK supply chain director Garry Flanagan said: