Morrisons has chosen Bibby Distribution to manage five strategic regional consolidation centres, in a move designed to reduce costs by using empty legs with full truck load returns on Morrisons own fleet, as well as offering suppliers with smaller consignments a more cost-effective route to market through regional consolidation.
The deal follows the introduction of Morrisons’ “In Motion” initiative in June 2011 to improve efficiencies in the supply chain.
Bibby business development director Ian Firth said: “The emphasis is on helping Morrisons maximise vehicle utilisation – whether that be back-loading existing store delivery vehicles with collections from local suppliers and RCCs, or collecting consolidated loads to deliver into its distribution centres nationwide.
The retailer believes this method of supplying into its distribution centre infrastructure will also help improve stock availability, reduce throughput of vehicles at its distribution centres and, importantly, serve to reduce the environmental impact of its transport operations.
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Over the coming months, Bibby will commence RCC operations on behalf of Morrisons from facilities in Yorkshire, East Midlands, South East, Staffordshire and the South West. The company says the first to get off the ground will be Yorkshire and the East Midlands which will begin operations in the next three months.
Ross Eggleton, head of national transport for Morrisons, said: “We believe Bibby has a physical infrastructure which is geographically suited to our supplier base. Throughout the process, the Bibby team has demonstrated that it has the best interests of Morrisons and its suppliers at heart, and we look forward to seeing ‘In Motion’ really come to life with this new way of working.”