Briscoe Group overhauls NZ supply chain with new hub

Argon & Co has partnered with Briscoe Group to overhaul the retailer's New Zealand supply chain, with the work centred on a new distribution centre in Drury, South Auckland.

The project also includes a demand-led replenishment model for Briscoe Group, owner of Rebel Sport and Briscoes Homeware. It is intended to improve stock allocation across the store network after the retailer found that inventory levels did not always translate into the on-shelf availability it wanted.

At Rebel Sport, products were often held in the wrong parts of the network, leaving store shelves less well stocked than planned. The revised model is designed to lift availability for the top six suppliers to 90 per cent.

The Drury site has increased pallet storage capacity from about 4,000 to 15,000 positions, giving Briscoe Group more room to hold stock centrally before sending it to stores based on demand.

For Briscoes Homeware, the shift has already changed the flow of incoming stock. Previously, 80 per cent of products went directly to stores. Under the new model, that figure has fallen to 20 per cent, with the balance held at the distribution centre and released when needed.

Briscoe Group is targeting a 57 per cent reduction in store inventory for Briscoes Homeware and a 67 per cent reduction for Rebel Sport. That would cut store cover from 18 weeks to six weeks, supported by a forecast-led replenishment process and a further four weeks of stock held at the distribution centre.

The retailer also expects the changes to improve imported stock turns by around 20 per cent, from 2.49 to 3.0. That would reduce the amount of capital tied up in inventory while maintaining product supply.

According to Argon & Co, the work extended beyond property and storage capacity. The consultancy supported Briscoe Group with the business case, warehouse design, automation systems, technology procurement, implementation, change management and operational readiness.

A new Manhattan Associates warehouse management system was introduced in phases as part of the programme. It is intended to move the business away from more manual processes and towards a more automated operation.

Goods-to-person automation has also been introduced for unit-level replenishment at Rebel Sport. In the first weeks of operation, the system averaged about 237 picks an hour against a target of 300, while one operating period reached 446 picks an hour.

Jeff Triantafilo, Partner at Argon & Co, said the project was aimed at correcting how inventory was spread across the network.

“Briscoe Group had plenty of inventory in its network, but too much of that stock was sitting in the wrong places. The opportunity was to change that so stores didn't need to double as warehouses and could instead use their space to give customers more choice and product availability,” Triantafilo said.

He said the distribution centre was only one part of a wider supply chain redesign.

“Building a new distribution centre was only one part of the project. We've redesigned how inventory moves through the business, introduced the technology and automation to support it and helped Briscoe Group take much greater control of its end-to-end supply chain,” he said.

Briscoe Group said the changes were aimed at better matching stockholding with store-level demand. Centralising more inventory would make replenishment more precise and free up selling space in stores.

“This transformation was really about making sure we have the right inventory, in the right place to meet customer demand. By holding more stock centrally and improving how we plan and replenish stores, we can respond much more precisely to what each individual store needs. That means less excess stock taking up valuable space, better product availability for customers and more room to sell rather than hold excess inventory,” said Darren Porteous, General Manager Supply Chain, Briscoe Group.

Porteous said Argon & Co had worked alongside the in-house team throughout the programme.

“Argon & Co has effectively been an extension of the Briscoe supply chain team throughout this journey. They've brought in the right people at the right time, whether we needed expertise in warehouse systems, automation, property, testing or program delivery. Their support has helped us manage a major transformation while keeping our day-to-day operations running,” he said.