Weber Distribution Renews Contract With Buxton for Nationwide Distribution of Its Famous Leather Products

JOC Staff |
SANTA FE SPRINGS, California ­ Weber Distribution, a leading third party logistics and supply chain management provider, announced today that it has been awarded a two-year contract renewal from Buxton, a manufacturer of high-quality personal leather goods for more than 102 years, to handle the storage, pick & pack and distribution of their product line to retailers throughout the United States such as JCPenney and Nordstrom.

Under the renewed contract, Weber performs a wide variety of 3PL-related services for Buxton, including order processing, label generation, inventory control, and routing guide compliance, as well as value-added services such as re-work with ticketing and sub-styling. Buxton¹s product line includes a variety of brands, including Buxton, Dopp, Wenger, and several private label programs for major retailers. Their wallets, travel kits, belts, business accessories, computer cases, totes, and other personal accessories are all manufactured in China and are stored and distributed at Weber¹s 303,000 square foot facility in Fontana, California.

According to Kendall Walsh, Buxton¹s supply chain director, the Company renewed its contract with Weber because of past experience.
³We are confident that Weber can do the job efficiently and they were very competitive as far as price is concerned,² said Walsh. ³Their communication is phenomenal and if any issues should arise, everything is documented and addressed at every level of the company from the top down. We can get a hold of someone at any point in time and they always follow through. We feel like we have a real partnership with Weber as opposed to being a customer.²

From Weber¹s Fontana facility, Buxton¹s products are stored and orders are routed and picked by case or pallet for retailers such as Samsonite stores, Gottschalks, Sears, JCPenney, Fred Meyer, and Nordstrom, to name a few. Buxton has more than 4000 unique SKU's and through Weber¹s facilities they ship roughly 3500 to 6000 orders per week containing 23,000 to 42,000 cases.

Buxton originally signed a contract with Weber in 2008 because their East Coast-based pick & pack distribution no longer fit their business model. ³This account is important for Weber as we strengthen our position in the retail market,² said Bill Butler, Weber¹s CEO. ³We perform special requirements for Buxton that support all of the major retailers, as well as second tier stores. Our project fulfillment services provide Buxton with a true Œone stop shop¹ to handle all their needs as they continue to expand and grow their business.²

Weber manages Buxton¹s retail compliance for all of the major retailers¹ specific routing, shipping and labeling requirements. At the heart of the compliance program is a custom-designed internal web site that allows all of Weber¹s warehouses to quickly reference every major retailers¹ most recent routing and shipping requirements, without having to individually review and interpret routing and vendor guides.

About Buxton
For more than 102 years, Buxton has manufactured innovative and high-quality personal leather goods. Despite its long tradition of innovation, much has changed since 1898 when Dana Buxton and his wife, Julia, began selling their handmade leather fits and novelties to tourist and bicyclist traveling on the scenic Mohawk Trail in Western Massachusetts. Buxton is located in Chicopee, Massachusetts where it began and it is now a global entity with foreign manufacturing operations and licensees in Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.

About Weber Distribution
Weber Distribution has evolved into a nationwide provider of logistics solutions. Weber¹s expertise includes non-asset freight management, asset-based LTL and TL services, including temperature-controlled, dedicated and shared warehousing, distribution, cross-docking/pool distribution, transloading, network optimization modeling and analysis, retail compliance, order fulfillment, material handling, supply chain management, real estate development, and personnel staffing.

Weber specializes in providing its clients with unique logistics solutions primarily to these vertical markets:
-Import
-Retail
-Food & Beverage
-Consumer Packaged Goods
-Chemical/Specialty Products
-Paper

Weber serves many well-known and respected companies such as Walmart, Target, Safeway, General Mills, Hershey, Nestlé, Applica Consumer Products, California Innovations, Scholastic Books, and PPG Industries. As a result of its on-going innovation, experience and dedication, Weber has been the recipient of numerous industry awards,
including:
-100 Great Supply Chain Partners
-Inbound Logistics' Top 100 3PLs
-Logistics Management's Top 50 3PLs
-The Los Angeles Business Journal's Top 100 Privately-Held Companies -Food Logistics Magazine¹s Top 70 3PLs -Food Logistics Magazine¹s FL100 listing of the top technology solution and service providers to the food industry.