The warehouse operations stretch with tyre seasons
Bridgestone is one of the leading tyre providers in Finland as well. This means that during the busiest tyre changing periods, Bridgestone's warehouse partner PostNord is likewise much busier than normal.
"Seasonal changes create huge peaks in our deliveries. The volumes and workloads increase and schedules become even tighter than normal, even though we strive to deliver roughly half the required tyres before the worst of the rush. PostNord manages this seasonal variation excellently," comments Bridgestone Finland Oy's Country Manager, Jonas Fodstad.
It is characteristic to this sector that tyre dealers are not able to keep large stocks of various sizes and products at their own premises. "However, ordered goods must be delivered as quickly as possible. Tyre dealers have to be able to promise their customers that their tyres will be installed by 14:00 the following day, and this, in turn, means that we have to have delivered the tyres by that time. According to our customers, Bridgestone is the most reliable supplier in the sector and this seems to indicate that our logistics operations are also functioning well."
It is characteristic to this sector that tyre dealers are not able to keep large stocks of various sizes and products at their own premises.
Bridgestone transferred its warehouse operations from Lappeenranta to PostNord´s Lahti Logistics Centre about three years ago:
"Lahti is situated close to the strategic business areas in Finland, to enable us to deliver the orders in 24 hours."
As a value-added service, the warehouse can also install the tyres onto wheel rims and thus offer so-called "complete packages".
"This is a key factor enabling us to serve car dealers and the autotrade in the best possible way."
Order collection and packaging are significant factors for the Bridgestone brand.
"Often surprisingly small things are important to customers: such as whether larger tyres are placed on the bottom of pallets and smaller ones at the top. Many customers also tell us that they are pleased to receive clean tyres! When necessary, we provide guidance to our warehouse personnel, and I must say that there is always a good response to training opportunities."
The Logistics Centre receives, shelves, stores and collects all the shipments. The amount of tyre sizes and models is enormous as Bridgestone produces tyres for practically all rubber wheel-based vehicles, including earth moving machines, motor bikes and agricultural machinery.
Bridgestone also organises customer events in its 12,000 square metre warehouse facilities in Lahti:
"We offer visits to the centre, as they are an important part of our customer relationship management. Reliable deliveries are especially crucial for car dealers because their capacity to store large amounts of tyres is limited. Their trust in our delivery reliability increases when they get to see our warehouse with their own eyes, with its acres of tyre rows and hear from the personnel how the thousands of product numbers are handled. This allows us to demonstrate that their deliveries are handled by committed and expert personnel."
The country manager believes their logistics partner has earned their recommendation.
"PostNord is a versatile and professional logistics partner. For example, I appreciate the fact that they actively stay in contact with us so that we can talk about any issues all the way to the managerial level."