Enabling local businesses to grow and supporting a North-East charity to help more families in need are among the first benefits of Stiller Warehousing and Distribution’s new designated fulfilment facility.
The 68-year-old Newton Aycliffe firm has provided a fulfilment service for numerous suppliers for many years but has never had a designated fulfilment location before now.
It has opened its fulfilment service at the centre of Stiller’s main site on Aycliffe Business Park, completing all the processes that happen after an order has been taken place, from accepting the order to storage, picking, packaging, shipping, and handling returns.
Thomas Prentice, business development manager at Stiller, said: “We used to give our customers a fulfilment solution upon request, but it wasn’t a service we wanted to distinctly offer before.
“Now, we are offering this to all clients because we have got the designated fulfilment facility to do this.
The fulfilment centre is already helping the firm’s chosen charity – the Newcastle RVI’s Children’s Foundation – by storing its MaM boxes and all the items needed to care for a new baby that goes in them, before assembling and distributing them to selected new Mums across the North-East.
The box itself transforms into a cot for newborns.
The initiative also has the support of John McCabe, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, who is in training to do the Great North Run for the Children’s Foundation.
John added it was “fantastic” to see two Chamber members, Stiller and Amazon, working together to give our region’s children the best start in life”.
“The MaM Baby Box project is outstanding,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to giving the Children’s Foundation North East my own support, by doing the Great North Run on its behalf, helping to raise much-needed funds.”
Sean Soulsby, chief executive at The Children’s Foundation, said: “Caring for babies is a really important, but very difficult job, and it takes the whole community, including the business community to make a difference.
“Stiller’s commitment in-kind to support our project via their new fulfilment centre in terms of safe storage, assembly and distribution of our Baby Boxes is the flagship in terms of cross-sector commitment to local children and families, ultimately the future workforce.
“Throughout the pandemic babies and new parents have often been overlooked. The NE’s child poverty figures speak for themselves.
“Our baby boxes are unique and a first to take a developmental approach to the child. We want to remind new parents and families that they are cared for, and to promote the best start in life for all children born here in the North-East.”
Stiller’s new fulfilment facility is also boosting the local economy, helping small businesses grow significantly by removing the hassle of storing their products and picking and packing each order.
Thomas added: “The service completes the circle, especially for our e-commerce clients, making us a one-stop shop when it comes to warehousing, picking and packing and distribution.
“We’ve had at least six or seven new start-ups contacting us recently that previously didn’t fit our business model.
“One was working out of his garage of two pallets of stock and he can now grow his business with our help on the fulfilment side.
“We are pleased to be able to offer this service to businesses of all sizes.”
PIC BY CHRIS BOOTH (left to right): North East England Chamber of Commerce chief executive John McCabe, The Children’s Foundation chief executive Sean Soulsby and Stiller managing director Matthew Stiller.