HD Supply, an industrial distributor in North America which serves approximately 500,000 professional customers, was looking for a commercial move provider that would have the equipment, staff and expertise to relocate their facility’s inventory. Hilldrup was prepared for the logistical challenge that a move of that magnitude would bring, especially as we had built a partnership with HD Supply during a previous move project of theirs that we were proud to lead. Our integrated service approach to logistics move management differentiated us, and this move quickly became a testament to how our strategy and team is truly Uniquely Hilldrup!

HD Supply & Hilldrup

HD Supply is known for providing a broad range of products and value-added services to its customers, most of whom work in the maintenance, repair and operations, infrastructure and power, and specialty construction business sectors. The move involved relocating nearly 40,000 pallets of inventory on over 1,900 trucks from two HD Supply warehouses. The original warehouses were both located in Norcross, GA and were consolidated into a single new warehouse in Forest Park, GA.

HD Supply’s move was led by the Hilldrup Atlanta team; however, it was no simple task to move the volume of inventory that HD Supply held within their two warehouses. In fact, a total of 600,000 square feet of inventory and material handling equipment was required to be relocated, in addition to floor-stacked products, Hazmat inventory and material handling equipment.

Plan of Action

For a commercial move of this size, Hilldrup ensured that we had the manpower, equipment and assets to move everything seamlessly. In addition to our main dedicated team, Hilldrup employed almost 30 forklift operators and nearly 20 drivers daily to relocate an average of 30 trailers and 3,300 pallets per week. The move project began in March 2019 with the main phase of the move project completed in July 2019 and the final phase scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.

The Hilldrup team for the HD Supply move project was well-rounded and included members of our senior management, business development and project management team. Each of our professionals involved with the move was instrumental in executing the operational plan and coordinating labor and equipment. Our team’s goal was to not only move all the inventory, but also design a move plan that would have very little impact to HD Supply’s daily operation and fulfillment of customer orders.

“Hilldrup is uniquely qualified to meet the client requirements, and also flexible enough to evolve with the client needs and scope changes,” explained Nigel Kelly, Director, Business Development. “Through careful management of the project, we were able to shift resources when needed and provide real-time tracking and updates to the client each day.”

By the Numbers

• 600,000 square feet of products requiring relocation
• 2 warehouse facilities to be combined into 1 central facility
• 40,000 pallets of inventory
• Over 1,900 truckloads
• Nearly 30 forklift operators working daily
• Nearly 20 drivers working daily

Challenges & Solutions

With such a high volume of inventory and a vast client basis, HD Supply’s ability to conduct business with little disruption was imperative throughout the relocation process. The most challenging part of the move process was working around the operations of HD Supply that would not, and could not, slow down due to relocating the contents of the facility.

“In short, Hilldrup was able to perform the move with little disruption to HD Supply,” explained Nigel. “It was important for us to be agile and flexible, depending on the readiness of shipments that were critical to HD Supply’s order fulfillment.”

We couldn’t have executed this move without our team’s abilities and HD Supply’s trust in our move management plan and integrated services approach. Thanks to all who made this Uniquely Hilldrup move not only possible, but seamless!

We were proud to have successfully handled such a large commercial move for HD Supply thanks to our agility, communication and integrated service offerings!  These characteristics are why we are Uniquely Hilldrup!

Charlie McDaniel Author