Blank sheet to ‘Super Warehouse’: Brigade Electronics partners with ERA Group to help transform their European Logistics Operations

Contextualising the situation

Brigade Electronics is in a period of exceptional momentum.

Demand for its vehicle and fleet-safety solutions is surging across nascent and established markets, thereby expanding the product portfolio and driving volumes to unprecedented levels. To sustain this trajectory, Brigade is undertaking significant investment in its operations and logistics – most notably through the establishment of a new “Super Warehouse” in the Netherlands, engineered to accommodate increased stockholding, expedite order fulfilment, and uphold the service standards customers anticipate as the business scales.

Brigade Electronics

Founded in 1976 by Chris Hanson-Abbott OBE after encountering lorry reversing alarms in Tokyo, Brigade Electronics introduced the first backup alarm to Europe and has led the way in vehicle safety ever since. Today, Brigade develops and supplies commercial-vehicle safety systems - AI-enabled and 360° camera solutions, White Sound® reversing alarms, ultrasonic and radar detection, and digital recorders - helping fleets prevent collisions and protect people worldwide.

Brigade is a recipient of the UK’s King’s Award for International Trade, acknowledging their excellence in innovation and sustainable development.

Favourable challenges

By 2025, Brigade’s distribution network comprised five warehouses across Mainland Europe – in addition to facilities in the UK, US, and Canada.

This relatively fragmented structure resulted in recurrent stock-outs, extensive internal coordination demands, and a network architecture that impeded digitisation efforts. This situation was exacerbated by external supply-chain complexities such as Brexit and the Red Sea disruption – consequently, Brigade was perpetually preoccupied with short-term rectifications, often at the expense of long-term strategic considerations.

The Optimal Solution

Brigade were conducting their own internal project to identify the perfect solution, when they engaged with Mark Doig, Key Account Manager at ERA Group.

During that initial consultation, Mark identified Logistics and Distribution as a pivotal domain where ERA could deliver significant value, and Rikesh Nichani was the evident specialist to involve. Operating as entirely independent consultants, devoid of emotional bias or attachment, Mark and Rikesh furnished Brigade with the external benchmark they sought – providing a fresh perspective to underscore overlooked opportunities and introduce novel insights.

“Are you sufficiently resolute?” – was the question posed by Rikesh Nichani, ERA Group’s Logistics expert.

“You were one of the enablers to make it a success - not just a report and goodbye.” - Aivaras Rumbauskas, Group Head of Supply Chain at Brigade Electronics.

‍ERA Group were tasked with supporting Brigade to develop and implement a Final Mile delivery solution that would not only maintain current service levels - but future proof the business as it continues to grow and expand.

Brigade assumed that consolidating warehousing in the Netherlands and reshaping the distribution model would add approximately €500,000 to annual distribution costs – a trade-off they were prepared to make given the overall operational savings that would be realised.

The anticipated cost increase was built on the assumption the 24-hour delivery window required by most customers across Europe would invariably increase with a centralised distribution model. ERA Group was tasked with stress-testing that assumption and looking at ways the cost could be mitigated.

Mark and Rikesh collaborated with Brigade to define a target state underpinned by three straightforward commitments: ensuring end-customer satisfaction, embedding resilience within the supply chain, and minimising cost increases without compromising service levels.

Brigade’s UK base rendered local, on-the-ground expertise essential. ERA’s Netherlands team, led by Sven de Swart, furnished local market intelligence and supplier access to validate the Netherlands as the optimal location, harmonise processes, and negotiate effectively with selected local suppliers.

Over nine months, ERA collaborated with Brigade to review key routes, evaluate prospective suppliers, recalibrate rates, refine service levels, and facilitate informed decision-making on the critical last mile. Each saving and efficiency gain was meticulously traced back to the model, enabling like-for-like comparisons and rapid course corrections as the new warehouse became operational.

“You can go from really blue-sky thinking to under the microscope in any logistics area… I haven’t met many people like that.” - Aivaras Rumbauskas, Group Head of Supply Chain at Brigade Electronics.

The Result

From the outset, this project was not focused on pursuing headline savings; rather, the objective was to minimise the anticipated cost increases.

Commencing with a clean slate, ERA has collaborated closely with Brigade throughout the process, and consequently, the projected €500,000 cost increase is being entirely mitigated – without compromising service.

The outcome is a scalable operating model that positions Brigade for confident growth in Europe, circumventing the initial step-change in distribution expenditure that frequently accompanies such initiatives.

“We completely mitigated that cost increase… and we’re now moving towards optimisation. I cannot thank ERA enough - it was exceptional. An absolute transformational change” - Aivaras Rumbauskas, Group Head of Supply Chain at Brigade Electronics.