Bob's Discount Furniture Expands With The Use Of Demountable Truck Bodies

Furniture World Magazine

Since its birth in 1991, Bob's Discount Furniture has expanded into a 300,000 square foot distribution center with 18 stores throughout CT, MA, and NH. Bob's Discount Furniture's sales increased by almost 20% from 1998 to 1999, and there are current plans to expand the distribution center by 25%. So, how are they keeping up with this explosive growth and staying on top of their customer service? The brilliant answer is a switch from the conventional delivery trucks to the Demountable Truck Body System manufactured by Demountable Concepts, Inc. According to Lee Goodman, the Operations Manager at Bob's Discount Furniture, "The distribution center in Taftville, CT, holds enough inventory for all 18 stores, We use the GERS Computer System to schedule our home deliveries at the time of every sale. At the distribution center, demountable bodies are loaded all day by our employees for tomorrow's deliveries. Each night, drivers from our dedicated transfer service, Airways Truck Leasing, back specialized trailers underneath the full bodies and take them to their respective stores in Bridgeport, Stamford and Brookfield, CT, as well as West Springfield and Lowell, Ma." Each trailer takes two bodies at a time, and each store gets four full bodies per night. At the store, they swap the full bodies with the empty ones left from the previous day's home deliveries and take them back to the distribution center. When the next workday begins, the local drivers at each store mount the full bodies and are ready for home deliveries. The cycle continues as the empty bodies are back at the distribution c enter getting loaded for the following day's deliveries. "By using the Demountable Truck Body System, we make the transfer of full bodies from the distribution center with such ease that it is almost invisible to Bob's", states Robert Duprey, the Operations Manager for Airways Truck Leasing, in Windsor Locks, CT. Duprey also believes that, "having one distribution center allows Bob's Discount Furniture to keep their finger on the pulse of their business by maintaining one high-quality warehouse, one loading staff, one inventory center and one customer service department." The benefits derived from using the Demountable Truck Body System are vast. Inventory does not need to be off-loaded, re-stocked, re-picked and re-loaded. Next-day delivery is assured, and satellite locations do not need an extensive and expensive warehouse. Fewer mistakes occur, less furniture gets scratched and less lifting means fewer employee injuries. "The Demountable Truck Bodies have helped Bob's Discount Furniture to expand its market territory, cut its fleet expenses, reduce its warehouse overhead, end unnecessary double-handling and damage of furniture, stop unproductive downtime, reduce labor costs, lower mileage and increase employee morale." Lee Goodman also said, "Using the Demountable Truck Body System has helped us increase our volume of deliveries by $520,000 in sales in one day by the current record!"