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Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.—
Furniture delivery specialist Sun Delivery has opened a 38,000-square-foot
distribution center in this city near Los Angeles, its first
such facility outside North Carolina. The
new facility initially will service an area including California,
Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and
Arizona.
"We'll provide our same premium white-glove in-home
delivery, but the transit times will be cut to less than
half," said Rick Phillips, president. "We're aiming
at two weeks delivery from the manufacturer's plant to the
consumer's home in those Western states."
Phillips, who bought the Thomasville, N.C.-based company
five years ago, said his mission has been "to create
a professionally run, customer-driven business."
He instituted bar-coded inventory control, a Web-based interface
so retailers and consumers can track their deliveries online,
and trucks equipped with GPS systems and two-way radios.
"We're open seven days a week, and customer service
stays on duty until midnight so we're available until 9
p.m. on the West Coast," Phillips said.
All furniture is unpacked before delivery and inspected,
and the company is "at about 99% damage-free deliveries."
"It has all paid off," Phillips
said. "We're the largest in-home provider of white-glove
delivery service in this region of North Carolina and the
business has tripled since I bought it five years ago." |