Design and proposal stage February 2020; manufacture and supply of trial trolleys May to July 2020; final rollout of trolleys to distribution centres in September 2020.

Bunnings' distribution centres are a hive of activity, with container loads of hardware items constantly coming and going. Enter COVID-19, and the pressure of the sudden demand spike tested the loading dock teams to their core. Change was inevitable - something needed to be done to help the teams keep up with the increased volume of stock movement.

The standard process for container unloads involved printing identification labels for the stock in the office area, then applying these labels to the stock as it was unpacked at the loading dock. Stock wouldn't be in any particular order, making it a challenge to find the correct stock for each label. Any incorrect or missing labels had to be reprinted at the office, which could be up to 50 metres away.

Bunnings' Supply Chain Development Manager came to us with an idea for an all-in-one trolley that could give the loading dock teams the efficiency they needed. We worked with him to come up with a design that would be ready quickly, and easy to implement and use on site.

Building upon a pre-made mobile workshop cabinet gave us a solid base and increased the speed of providing a solution.

Here's the standard features on the mobile cabinet:

• 75mm castors with brakes
• Lockable drawer and cupboard unit
• Single push handle
• Non-slip rubber work surface

After putting the trial trolleys through their paces on site, the Bunnings' team had some suggested improvements for us, which were implemented for the final design:

• Double monitor arm for two screens
• Better label reel design
• Fluoro orange safety flag for improved visibility when exiting aisles

In September 2020 we sent out a fleet of 20 trolleys to streamline the stock receivals process for the DC teams throughout Australia and New Zealand. The trolleys have been a welcome advancement for the DC teams, and along with improving efficiency in their processes, frustration and pressure has been reduced.