CASE STUDY – Unipart Lean Logistics

From Greenfield Launch To Full-Blown Recovery — One DC, Two Missions

OVERVIEW

Unipart Lean Logistics secured a flagship $80M contract to build and operate a dedicated import centre for Homebase. The facility was delivered on time — but when leadership walked out, floor control collapsed and the operation slid into crisis. Gary returned to rescue the site from meltdown.

Trigger for Intervention: Two months after launch, floor leadership collapsed, and fulfilment spiralled — requiring urgent recovery before reputational damage took hold.

THE CHALLENGE

The facility launch was under intense pressure — systems, tools, and teams all lagged behind the launch date.

Legacy infrastructure blocked progress. An aged sortation system had to be decommissioned before any redesign could begin.
Critical relocations faced last-minute delays. Asbestos remediation derailed the transition of soft furnishings to offsite facility.
Systems and tooling weren’t ready. Catalyst WMS was unconfigured and container unloading booms were still being prototyped.
The launch date was locked. Promotions and supplier flows relied on operations opening as scheduled.
Operational depth was weak. Senior bandwidth was limited, forcing the program team to absorb frontline risk.

THE APPROACH

Gary was commissioned as Senior Program Manager to lead the end-to-end delivery of the Import Centre for Homebase.

Redesigned 320k sq ft for throughput. Legacy infrastructure was removed and the layout rebuilt for high-volume flow.
Ran a full-volume simulation. Four weeks of live trials validated systems, flows, and team coordination before go-live.
Built a hybrid operations team. Balanced experienced operators with recent grads to scale capacity quickly.
Deployed SOPs and structured training. Function-specific playbooks and live drills ensured operational confidence.
Cleared all readiness gates early. Client and internal approval was secured ahead of plan.

The site launched cleanly. No slippage. No surprises.

THE SOLUTION

Two months later, Gary was recalled to site to recover control after a leadership collapse derailed daily execution.

Exposed labour and volume mismatch. Forecasting and resourcing had drifted far from actual demand.
Reset broken floor leadership. Supervision lacked structure, rhythm, and clear accountability.
Rebuilt shift discipline and routines. Roles, schedules, and planning rhythms were reinstated across departments.
Restored Catalyst WMS reporting. Dashboards and KPI tracking re-enabled visibility and intervention.
Repaired client confidence. Daily comms and hands-on involvement re-established control and trust.

Delivery was the easy part. Keeping it alive when leadership bailed? That was the big miss.

THE OUTCOMES

The facility was saved from collapse and transformed into the top-performing site in the network.

Implementation landed on spec. Site was delivered to timeline, budget, and operational scope.
Recovery executed fast. Stabilisation took weeks, not months — within a week, no further disruption to store supply.
Client confidence retained. Trust survived both the uneventful launch and the internal collapse.
Network benchmark exceeded. The DC outperformed legacy facilities on speed, service, and consistency.
Long-term control embedded. Supervisory gaps were closed with durable systems and strong governance.

WHY IT MATTERS

This wasn’t just a launch. It was a full-circle rescue — and proof of end-to-end delivery under pressure.

Delivered and recovered — in one client engagement. The same leadership that launched the site successfully, was called to rescue it.
Protected an $80M reputation risk. Prevented major fallout for both Unipart LL and Homebase.
Built resilience into execution. When the team collapsed, Gary stabilised it before failure took hold.

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

“I’m pleased to confirm Gary Newbury successfully completed the implementation of the new Homebase Import Centre within our Oxford Distribution Warehouse.
His considerable experience in managing change programs ably supported joint Unipart and Homebase teams in delivering a 320,000 sq ft facility to time, budget and scope, and he was there to direct operations when we hit unscheduled challenges.
The project and subsequent performance recovery laid a strong foundation for future development of the Unipart and Homebase partnership, who gained significant confidence in our delivery capability through his work, which was a major contribution to our business transformation.”
— David Whale, Head of Transformation, Unipart Lean Logistics