Retailer agrees terms for three more years under collaborative transport arrangement

Retailer agrees terms for three more years under collaborative transport arrangement

WHSmith recently signed a three-year extension to a collaborative transport management deal.

The contract with UK supply chain provider Wincanton includes an efficiency initiative that is planned to cut down on store deliveries without effecting existing service levels.

Reframing transport costs

David McKinlay, supply chain director at WHSmith, said the extension to the collaborative transport agreement reflected how Wincanton had “reframed” the retailer’s transport model to cut costs and carbon emissions.

“With an increase in store locations and aggressive fuel inflation, we needed a different type of relationship that would create a step-change in the way we were utilising transport,” he said.

“Wincanton has met this challenge head on and created significant economies of scale by combining our transport operations with those of over 30 other retailers and manufacturers.”

Load-sharing distribution approach

Wincanton said its load-sharing approach, which uses shared High Street deliveries to split costs among more than 30 other retailers and manufacturers, has achieved a significant reduction in costs and carbon emissions.

The contract covers Wincanton‘s work for WHSmith hubs in Swindon, Dunstable and Birmingham, as well as Wincanton‘s own multi-user depots in Middleton, near Manchester and Mossend in Scotland.

Wincanton‘s fleet of 22 tractor units, 52 trailers and 47 rigids, are operated by 160 drivers and warehouse staff who service around 1,000 WHSmith stores in the UK and Ireland.