Menlo’s Outsourced Light Shines Through For Stained Glass Craftsman
By Anuja Abraham
A UK manufacturer and restorer of traditional style stained glass is tapping into a new e-commerce sales medium having joined the growing base of companies that outsource supply chain activities to third party logistics (3PL) provider Menlo Worldwide Logistics at its multi-client facility in Swindon.
Neil Phillips Stained Glass awarded the contract to Menlo Worldwide Logistics on the reference of an existing satisfied user of the Swindon facility, Damaris, which manages a family of high-end lingerie brands.
Outsourced activities for Neil Phillips Stained Glass will include warehousing, value-added services and global transportation, and will support the manufacturer’s move into e-commerce sales of smaller stained glass fragments. Products manufactured in the UK will be delivered to the Swindon facility prior to being sold on MagnusCreatora.com and eBay.
Menlo will unpack and label fragments received from Neil Phillips and photograph them for the client. Orders will be received by Menlo for fulfillment, involving pick and pack and global shipping to the customer. Activities will be carried out from a dedicated portion of the Swindon facility with Menlo adjusting personnel to cope with demand.
“By placing our trust in Menlo to ensure that our highly crafted products are delivered to our customers efficiently and safely, we have been able to focus our resources on what we do best – the sourcing, design and manufacture of exclusive, high-end and original products,” explained Neil Phillips. “When we saw what had been achieved for Damaris we knew that this was a fulfillment model that we wanted to be part of.”
Menlo Worldwide Logistics Managing Director Europe, Tony Gunn, welcomed the new business. “What we are able to provide for Neil Phillips are not only warehousing and transportation from a state-of-the art facility,” he said. “It is also an opportunity for the client to plug straight into an exciting new sales channel without having to tie-up time and investment in establishing competency and infrastructure – and that is what 3PL benefits are all about,” he added.
The secure 16,000 sq metre Swindon regional distribution, warehousing and transportation facility is supported by Menlo’s suite of IT systems including warehouse management. It is strategically located alongside the M4 motorway with easy access to London Heathrow Airport and the Port of Southampton and is an essential tool in the integration of customers’ supply chains, a service Menlo carries out on five continents.
