Canford have made a significant investment which sees its warehousing facilities upgraded and storage capacity at its Washington headquarters expanded to approximately 21,000 square feet.
The Washington based company specialises in the manufacture and distribution of professional audio equipment intended primarily for the broadcast and pro AV installation markets. The company’s custom fibre connection panels were recently deployed at the International Festival for Business, where they were used for communications, camera and projection system interconnectivity and signal management.
The expansion works are the latest development resulting from Canford’s strategic growth plan, which has included the opening of its own in-house fibre termination facility and more recently the relocation of production to a bespoke facility.
Canford Marketing Manager, Stephen Gallagher commented: “This investment demonstrates Canford’s commitment to putting the customer first. We are a market leader and have already developed a sophisticated stock management system. This helps us manage production schedules and inventory levels but we aren’t going to stop there. The new warehousing will enable us to further improve upon our existing high order fulfilment rates, and ensure that Canford has the right products, ready to ship”.
A new 2,800 square foot mezzanine floor has been installed to maximise the space available within the distribution centre, and new racking has been designed for compatibility with all kinds of pallets – Euro, Chep, disposable or captive pallets, mesh boxes or bins.
The Canford warehouse also boasts seven vertical storage carousels capable of storing over 10,000 of the firm’s 18,000 different stock keeping units.
Grant Thirlaway, Canford Warehouse Manager, concludes: “Upgrading our facilities has allowed us to re-design the whole process in the warehouse and improve safety. We’ve been able to pedestrianise large areas, reduce the requirement for fork lift truck usage and keep noisy processes such as cable winding separate”.
Canford hold “Known consignor” status whereby the company’s warehousing, access control and security systems have been audited and approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. The accreditation enables Canford to fulfil orders from its International customers far quicker than might otherwise be the case, as cargo can be transported overseas without the need for additional security measures being applied. This has contributed to Canford growing its export business which is ahead of target and expected to reach £4.5million for the year 2016/17.