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 grown into a 19-store chain with stores throughout CT, MA, and NH and a 376,000 square foot distribution center. Bob’s Discount Furniture’s sales increased by 21% from 2001 to 2002, placing Bob’s at number 40 of the top 100 furniture retailers in the United States. How, you may ask, are they keeping up with this explosive growth and staying on top of their customer service? The 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 Chief Operating Officer at Bob’s Discount Furniture, “The distribution center in Taftville, CT, holds enough inventory for all 19 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, our line-haul drivers back specialized trailers underneath the full bodies and take them to their respective stores throughout New England.” Each trailer takes two bodies at a time, and each store gets the required quantity of bodies to meet the next day’s delivery needs. According to Bob Duprey, Logistics Manager for Bob’s Night shuttle, “We transfer on average 46 demountable bodies per night from our distribution center to the stores. This means that 46 delivery truckloads of furniture are placed precisely in the markets where the furniture needs to be delivered the next day. My nine transfer drivers, using nine demountable trailers, accomplish this logistical move each night and log an average of 4,742 miles per evening.” When Bob’s transfer drivers reach their destination, they swap the full bodies with the empty ones left from the previous day’s home deliveries and return to the distribution center. In the morning, the local drivers at each store mount the full bodies and are ready for home deliveries. Bob’s home delivery teams can begin delivering early, and they don’t have to load their own trucks or have long rides prior to their first delivery. This cycle continues as the empty bodies back at the distribution center get loaded for the following day’s deliveries. According to Bob Kaufman, President of Bob’s Discount Furniture, “We have been using the demountable system for four years and it has totally transformed the way we do business. The demountable bodies have been an important part of transforming our company to the 40th largest furniture retailer in America in a cost-effective manor. The demountables enable us to service our customers from New York City to New Hampshire out of one central distribution center with one management team, one set of loading dock doors and one inventory location” 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. A misconception that furniture retailers must overcome is the belief that drivers must load their own trucks. It is impossible to efficiently grow a furniture distribution network if all delivery drivers load their own vehicles. According to Lee Goodman, “I employ what I call my “Green Berets of loading”. Loading is the only thing this crew does and it ensures that remote delivery drivers receive undamaged quality- loaded furniture.” Goodman continues, “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.” For more information contact info@demount.com or visit www.demount.com