Mainfreight: Warehouse Network Structure and Design

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What were your day-to-day responsibilities as a branch manager?

Every Monday, every Mainfreight branch around the world runs a profit and loss for the previous week. By the end of Monday night, Don Braid knows how Mainfreight has performed, globally. This unique approach allows for quick tactical control over branch operations. In most businesses, you might have accurate reporting at the end of the month or halfway through the following month, whereas in Mainfreight, I could tell you how we performed the week before.

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Why is that the case?

In New Zealand, the majority of our transport depots have direct railway access, so we send a lot of freight by rail. You need train tracks coming into the middle of the depot. A transport depot is all about loading and unloading trucks as quickly and efficiently as possible, so there's no need for racking or anything else. The quality of the building doesn't need to be as high as for warehousing in general.

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Yes.

In New Zealand, the sales process is relatively easy because Mainfreight is a well-known brand. When people think about transport or shipping something around the country, they think about Mainfreight. It's a household name, similar to Apple or Microsoft, but not quite at the same level. Most of it is through word of mouth, as Mainfreight doesn't really advertise. They have a high density of trucks around the country, which serve as mobile billboards. Each of their branches is painted blue, has Mainfreight written on the side in large letters, and is kept very clean.

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