ProCook HQ & Distribution Centre
Background of the new HQ & Distribution Centre
Since being listed on the London Stock Exchange in November 2021, ProCook, the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand, are on a mission of growth.
With the help of our team at Total Interiors Direct in July 2023, ProCook officially opened their new 167,000 sq ft headquarters, distribution centre and forever home just off Junction 12 of the M5 in Gloucestershire.
The fit out includes a photography studio, 3,100 sq ft showroom, meeting rooms and co-working spaces for up to 200 members of staff, and a canteen.
Not only this, they also now have all stock back under one roof which aims to improve product availability, drive better efficiency, and enhance the customer experience.
The Challenges
Since sales started to spike during the Pandemic, ProCook found that they were quickly running out of room at their now old warehouse. They were using additional external storage and moving stock back and forth between two sites to make operations work.
One of their aims of fitting out their new site was to have one bulk holding of stock for ecommerce and retail. With 58 stores nationwide and plans to open 2 more stores by the end of 2023, it was a priority for ProCook to have something that fulfilled their growing needs.
The Solution
To achieve their goal of having a bulk holding of stock plus room for growth, we installed 2700mm, 3000mm, and 3600mm bays of pallet racking and 2800mm bays of long span shelving.
As well as designing, supplying, and installing the racking and shelving, Total Interiors were appointed Principal Contractor (aka PC).
This meant that we were responsible for elements such as:
- Planning, managing, monitoring, and coordinating the entire fit out phase of the project once the shell had been built.
- Taking account of and managing the health and safety risks to everyone involved in the project, including all contractors on site.
- Ensuring suitable welfare facilities were provided for all contractors.
- Ensuring all contractors had site specific inductions and further training as and when required.
Those are a just a few things that we successfully delivered as part of our PC responsibilities, but ultimately, we took the weight off of our clients’ shoulders and held their hand throughout the entire process as soon as the building was erected.
There is also room at the back of the distribution centre to extend the pallet racking when ProCook have filled all available space in what has been installed.
What did ProCook think of us?
Having had previously worked with us, ProCook were confident that Total Interiors Direct had the knowledge of the business, they also knew how we worked and had built a trusted relationship with us from the previous project at their old site.
We sat down for a coffee and reflection with Lee Maddocks, the Head of Warehousing and Logistics at ProCook. He said:
“We needed some guidance on the best approach, and we started off with a VNA solution. We went through a lot of plans and revisions, but Jerry and the team were very responsive and quickly turned around new drawings as and when we needed them.
There was a lot of flexibility and understanding to the result we were trying to achieve.”
We also asked Lee what he thinks others should know about Total Interiors Direct:
“When starting this project, it wasn’t originally part of my day job, so I knew I needed my hand holding throughout the process and Total Interiors did just that. They were easy to work with and very adaptive.”
