 (L-R) Peter Cosgrove, Rushlift chairman and Denis Wellfare, Saint-Gobain's transport director |
Independent materials handling solutions provider Rushlift has secured the UK's single largest supply-level agreement with Saint-Gobain's building distribution division.
The GBP100 million (USD164.6 million) deal will see Rushlift supply the group with a variety of materials handling equipment over 10 years and manage and maintain over 2,000 forklifts in UK manufacturing, retail and merchant sites. This includes Saint-Gobain's Jewson, JP Corry and Gibbs, and Dandy builders' merchant chains.
Rushlift chairman Peter Cosgrove attributes the contract win to the efforts of the group's national accounts, technical and service teams, and detailed negotiations with key suppliers.
The agreement, two years in the making, has prompted Rushlift to employ 30 new engineering, account management and administrative personnel and more appointments are expected to follow.
During the long tender process, Rushlift was given opportunities to demonstrate its abilities at several Saint-Gobain sites. Cosgrove says the opportunities enabled the company to outperform its competitors.
"We have been able to deliver higher levels of service at lower cost than our competitors and we have gained the business against competition from all the major companies in the industry," he explains.
A leading construction materials company, Saint-Gobain has a dedicated team overseeing UK and Ireland logistics, based in Southampton.
Saint-Gobain was particularly impressed with Rushlift's flexibility in providing electronic data exchange. The online system allows Saint-Gobain to log jobs without having to call a depot and for its fleet management systems to be updated by Rushlift on a daily basis.
Saint-Gobain fleet director Ian Berrill says his company is impressed by Rushlift's track record and is keen to make the most of its economies of scale and take advantage of the latest technical developments.
"Having the UK's largest fleet has many benefits, but also many challenges. Being able to manage the fleet make-up, control costs and respond to our changing needs is crucial. Rushlift's approach offers us a real business advantage, allowing for full visibility of equipment across over 800 sites in the UK and Ireland," Berrill says.
Rushlift has already taken responsibility for maintaining Jewson's lorry-mounted cranes as well as delivering a number of machines in selected businesses. One of the first groups to benefit from the deal has been the company's Irish builders' merchant chain, JP Corry. Over 50 new trucks have already been delivered and weeks of discussions, site surveys and feasibility studies have been completed.
Rushlift sales manager Matt Turner says the equipment supplier has restructured Saint-Gobain's fleet make-up to reflect its business needs and introduced new Doosan and Combilift forklifts.
As well as liaising with key suppliers, Rushlift has also introduced bespoke operator training and online reporting procedures.
"There are certain expectations that come with a deal of this size," Turner says. "And we have done our utmost to exceed them. There has been much effort in developing our own business structure to allow us to bring practical solutions to the likes of JP Corry, Jewson and other group businesses."