{"id":453,"date":"2024-08-22T15:32:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T13:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elementlogic.net\/?post_type=case&p=681"},"modified":"2025-04-24T10:32:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:32:51","slug":"football-kit-supplier-scores-big-with-warehouse-automation","status":"publish","type":"case","link":"https:\/\/www.elementlogic.net\/uk\/cases\/football-kit-supplier-scores-big-with-warehouse-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Football kit supplier scores big with warehouse automation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
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Football kit supplier scores big with warehouse automation<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n

The UK’s leading football teamwear supplier saves \u00a3200,000 on manpower, floorspace and labour in its first year of using an AutoStore solution from Element Logic.
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A series of firsts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Based in Dundee, Scotland, Direct Soccer<\/a> is a family-run business and one of the UK\u2019s leading football teamwear suppliers that offers in-house personalised printing and embroidery. By switching to online trading as early as 2002, it became the first company in Britain to take fully personalised orders on mobile devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct Soccer achieved another first nearly 20 years later \u2013 it became the first AutoStore system<\/a> user in Scotland and the second in the UK, placing it at the forefront of advanced warehousing. In its first year of using AutoStore, the company has saved approximately \u00a3200,000 in manpower, floor space, and energy savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sportswear business\u2019 growing customer base prompted its owners, husband-and-wife team Bryce and Joyce Gibson, to triple the floor size of the company\u2019s warehouse in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile our racking system worked well up to that time, we knew we had to find a warehouse solution to optimise the floor space fully and improve the overall efficiency of our operations,\u201d explained Bryce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joyce continued: \u201cOur online business caters for both clubs and individuals, so when the taps got turned off on the club side during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, we shifted our marketing focus to the individual. Using the mantra \u2018stay safe, stay home, keep training\u2019, we started supplying more leisurewear to this market through Express Football Kits, the sister site of Direct Soccer. The site offers next-day delivery with limited personalisation and grew quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryce added that they initially considered a mezzanine system for the additional warehouse space, \u201cbut the number of floors made it impractical for our needs at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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