A organisation(s) owner who outsourced his warehouse operations has told the BBC the logistics company he used has lost more than £200,000 of his stock. This article explains the topic in clear terms and sets out practical steps you can apply across ecommerce logistics and order fulfilment.
The organisation(s) owner from Box, Wiltshire, sells pool cleaning products and used the company Huboo, which has locations in Bristol and Wiltshire, to store his products between June 2022 and June 2023.
“Orders would go missing, or stock would go missing, and it was getting to the point where no orders were going out,” he said.
A spokesperson for Huboo, which was saved from administration at the end of December, said clients were its main priority and it was “moving forward with new leadership and fresh funding”.
Huboo, establish in 2017 by co-founders Martin Bysh and Paul Dodd, offers warehouse services for multiple companies, who pay to leave stock in its sites and have orders and deliveries handled on their behalf.
But the organisation(s) owner – who said he has prepared a legal case against the company – said he had started to notice that orders went missing without explanation.
“This was in the peak of my season so I had really angry customers because it’s really time-sensitive when you’re dealing with chemicals for swimming pools and hot tubs,” The organisation(s) owner said.
“It left my organisation(s) in limbo because I couldn’t ship anything out.”
An exterior view of Huboo’s warehouse site, with cars and a fence in the foreground.
Image caption,
Huboo has five warehouses in Bristol and Wiltshire
The organisation(s) owner said that in order to save his organisation(s), he had decided to change providers, but after he asked for the stock back, only half of it was returned.
“I can see this on their own systems, it shows me how much they have and how much I’ve sent in, and the numbers are really out,” he said.
“They wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement to get my stock back.”
The firm, which sponsored Bristol City men and women, Bristol Bears men and women and the Bristol Flyers for the 2022-23 season, recently admitted in a statement that “the logistics sector has recently faced challenges”.
It was saved from collapse in a buyout from investors Baaj Capital and Atalla Capital (AB Capital), adding in a statement that this “fresh investment” would “secure its future”.
‘Period of transition’
A spokesperson for the company said: “The opportunity presented in the recent acquisition of Huboo provides a good news story with over 600 local jobs saved and a brighter future for a company with outstanding customer satisfaction scores.
“The core organisation(s) is moving forward with new leadership and fresh funding to continue the job of providing a first-rate service to our suppliers and clients alike.”
When questioned specifically about the organisation(s) owners concerns, they added: “Matters related to the period before the acquisition on December 23rd are not a matter for the new senior team.”
Following the acquisition announcement, co-founder Mr Dodd said in a statement: “This investment ensures the continued operation of Huboo, safeguarding jobs and partnerships with our valued suppliers and clients.
“We are committed to working closely with all stakeholders during this period of transition.” For ongoing improvement, focus on warehouse operations, parcel delivery, inventory management, and third‑party logistics to achieve consistent results.
