Woodland Group and Worldwide Book Services (WBS) are delighted to announce the strengthening of their alliance with Woodland Group having successfully acquired 50% of the UK logistics company. This move marks the combined forces becoming the strongest supply chain suppliers to the media and publishing industry across the globe and their combined substantial volumes further improving their joint service offering across east and west Europe, and Russia.
Having forged a very close working relationship with WBS over more than 10 years, delivering book and media solutions to joint clients such as Amazon since 2007, Woodland Group was recently offered the opportunity to buy out Simon Taylor and acquire half the business. Managing Director David Burnham remains 50% shareholder and will partner with Woodland Group to develop and grow opportunities through their shared network, global coverage, and client database, strategically strengthening their already well-established presence in the media & publishing industry and further enhancing their international capabilities.
“Our vision is to combine the specialist skills and experience of Worldwide Book Services with the strength and quality of Woodland Group to become the ultimate leader in delivering international media logistics. Thanks to the involvement of Woodland Group, we now have the ideal combination of skills, experience, and resources to bring a new standard of service to booksellers, publishers, printers and the wider industry,” commented David Burnham, MD of WBS.
WBS and Woodland Group unite their considerable resources, assets and reach across warehousing and fulfilment, customs, air, ocean & European road freight capabilities. Together they will deliver true global coverage, developing opportunities through WBS’ strengths across Scandinavia with daily export consolidations and its owned services in and out of Russia and Woodland Group’s owned locations across the UK, Ireland, Asia, mainland Europe and USA, and dedicated media air solutions through its airport hub at Heathrow, London, UK.
Woodland Group recently invested considerably into dedicated customs teams across the two continents, who will be joined by the combined force of teams on the ground delivering local support and expertise. This will allow the company and WBS to deliver leading solutions on US to UK and EU routes in both directions and meet the growing demand for personalised supply chain management solutions post-Brexit.
Clients and partners will benefit from the two companies’ continued investment into fully integrated IT systems and digital platforms, with WBS and Woodland Group looking to unite resources to further optimise respective offerings.
With WBS’ 50,000 sq ft distribution centre in Wickford, Essex added to Woodland Group’s existing fulfilment locations, they will now be able to rely on more than 1 million sq ft of dedicated warehousing across the UK, USA, and mainland Europe to become the ultimate leader in international media logistics and distribution.
