Mega-sized and super-fast: a construction project that fits vidaXL

141,000 m2 distribution center, completed within a year of awarding the contract. Including an unplanned logistics bridge 125 meters long and a completely finished auditorium. Four halls totaling 79,000 m2 could even be commissioned some six months after construction work began. You don't see it often in this day and age: a project of this magnitude completed within the agreed time and budget, despite all the challenges of delivery times, price increases and staff shortages. Van der Heijden construction and development realized it for vidaXL.

Trust from the beginning

From furniture to sporting goods and toys to pet supplies. International online retailer vidaXL delivers thousands of items in all these categories to price-conscious customers in 32 countries in Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia. This requires a robust logistics operation and a lot of storage space. The logistics centers for Europe are in Poland and in Venlo in the Netherlands. Three construction phases were not enough for vidaXL to create the warehouse space it needed in Venlo. So the assignment for a fourth phase followed: 141,000 m2 for distribution halls, offices and an "innovation hub," or the Supply Chain Valley: an inspiring environment with workstations, lecture hall and meeting rooms. VidaXL awarded this contract to Van der Heijden on the basis of price and trust.

That trust was already there in the negotiation phase. From the very first contacts, Van der Heijden had an open relationship with the client, in which the builder made it clear that decisiveness, flexibility and thinking along in the preliminary process were among its list of distinguishing characteristics. Willem Huvenaars, Project Manager Real Estate at vidaXL agrees: "From the very first moment, Van der Heijden showed close involvement in the project by thinking along with us in terms of solutions and by suggesting improvements. Based on planning, cost, professionalism and commitment, we awarded Van der Heijden the contract for this challenging construction project."

Doing more in less time

Within five weeks of being awarded the contract, work was already underway. And several weeks before the contract date, vidaXL was already able to put the various distribution halls into use and delivery was a fact. Exceeding expectations is strongly woven into Van der Heijden's DNA. In all projects, this starts with thorough preliminary work in which everything is thought out and the entire project is already built in 3D, before implementation starts. In this way, potential challenges are identified in advance. The builder applies this working method in all its projects and makes it possible to do more in less time.

Still, they are extra proud at Van der Heijden that they delivered this very project faster than promised and to the full satisfaction of the client. Project leader Jeroen van Beuningen says: "The combination of the size of the project, the ambitious planning, the driven approach of all parties and the rather difficult market situation made this project special. In times of crisis, when people and materials are scarce and prices and delivery times are constantly changing, timely and complete delivery is an extra challenge. It pleases me to see that we - and our partners - have the flexibility and resourcefulness to achieve the set goals while at the same time working together in a pleasant way."

Teamwork and decisiveness

Cooperation is anyway one of the aspects to which Van der Heijden attributes much of its success. Not only in this project, but in all assignments, the builder values working with professional partners who are already in tune with each other from previous projects. "We understand each other. And perhaps even more importantly: we actually have something for each other," Van Beuningen says. "As a result, we never face a surprise or challenge alone, but together. We face them together. And if we commit to something, we will do it. We know that about each other."

Such cooperation makes it possible to move quickly and ensures that everyone in the process takes responsibility. "That starts with ourselves, by the way," Van Beuningen adds. "We work with self-managing teams within Van der Heijden. This keeps lines of communication short and gives us a lot of responsibility and freedom to make our own decisions. The result is our quick and decisive action." 

Not thinking, but prethinking

For Van der Heijden, partnership also means working closely with the client. "We always review the wishes and possibilities together with the client as early as possible in the process. In this way, the client helps us understand how best to set up and deliver the project. Because of the experience we have with these types of projects, we often come up with innovative ideas and possibilities that our client has not yet thought of. In this project, for example, we simplified the set-up of the grandstand in order to reduce lead time and lower the cost price for the client. We also performed the carpentry work ourselves, allowing us to deliver that grandstand within the requested deadline. And where two know more than one, three know even more. So it was extra nice that we could act jointly not only with vidaXL, but also with the architect and construction supervisor DENC," said Van Beuningen.

"The biggest secret of a successful construction process? Thinking along in the early stages. By involving all the executing parties in the preliminary phase, we can fully think out and visualize the entire plan in advance," he adds. "And that visualization goes far: we map out everything and draw it out in a 3D model down to the smallest level of detail. That way, the building actually stands and exists before construction starts. Only when everything has been approved and recorded in - what we call - the Lego booklet, do we start construction. In this way we avoid surprises during the work and keep up the speed. Not thinking, but pre-thinking, we call it."

Additional challenges

Every project has its challenges. So did the realization of this warehouse complex for vidaXL. Then it is nice to see that all the good preliminary work, the joint commitment and shared responsibility of all the construction partners and the ingenuity, flexibility and team spirit together ensure that all the promises can still be kept.

That two months before completion everything was still going according to plan was nice. Because then vidaXL came up with the additional desire to connect this Phase 4 complex to the existing warehouse across the public road! With a 125-meter-long logistics bridge at a height of five meters, equipped with a conveyor belt, it would be possible to easily transport inventory from Phase 3 to Phase 4. Another additional desire was to furnish the innovation hub that was originally to be delivered as empty space. In order to use it as an auditorium, complete with stages and bleachers, quite a bit of carpentry work was required. Work you don't easily outsource on such short notice. Impossible? Not for a builder who thinks in terms of opportunities and possibilities. So we managed to include both extensions within the scope of the project. But also to release the materials and people in time that proved once again Van der Heijden's credo: building can be done differently. 

Whether the client was satisfied? Willem Huvenaars of vidaXL: "The timelines were short, the scope of the project large. With the expansion of
vidaXL grew the need to be able to store goods early and serve our customers from this new location. Van der Heijden, together with the chain partners, made it possible for us to fulfill this need and start up our logistics operation even before the agreed delivery date. Together with DENC and Van der Heijden we have achieved a beautiful end result: a great distribution center with office function and housing for the Supply Chain Valley." For now, vidaXL's continued growth is once again guaranteed. But developments in online retail are moving fast. So when the time comes for phase 5, Van der Heijden keeps coming forward.