Davies & Robson has conducted a distribution tender exercise on behalf of sandwich retailer Eat, resulting in the appointment of Gist to establish and operate a national distribution centre at its Hemel Hempstead facility.
Eat operates its own central kitchen which distributes products overnight to its 100 shops throughout the UK.
The operation relies on the provision of a distribution system capable of providing a reliable chilled delivery service.
Davies & Robson worked with Eat to prepare a contingency plan allowing the operation to continue uninterrupted in the event of the existing service being unexpectedly withdrawn.
Pre-picked product is now received at the Hemel Hempstead site from Eat’s central kitchen in Wembley and milk is delivered directly from a third party supplier.
Gist is responsible for sorting cages into vehicle routes and for picking the milk to cages against delivery outlet orders.
Direct deliveries are made by Gist to Eat outlets in the South East. For the remainder of the country, product is trunked to a national network with cross-docking facilities for onward delivery by local delivery vehicles.
Deliveries to retail outlets are undertaken at night using vehicles fitted with tail hoists to ensure the availability of fresh product when the stores open.
Guy Harvey, finance director for Eat, said: “Davies & Robson’s experience and pragmatic approach were invaluable in helping us to address the immediate risks threatening our distribution network and subsequently undertook a professional tender process to assist us in appointing a third party who we are confident will uphold our delivery values.”
