Brakes has won a multi-million pound contract with Irish catering contractor Aramark, with the help of Paragon Software Systems’ routeing and scheduling optimisation software.
Brakes used Paragon to establish precise depot locations, fuel and carbon efficient routes, and the exact number of vehicles needed to fulfil Aramark’s food service requirements for daily deliveries of chilled, frozen and ambient foods to nearly 300 outlets.
Eamonn Woodcock, customer supply and development director at Brakes, said: “For Aramark we were able to input all of its outlets and delivery requirements into our Paragon system, together with our existing Irish resources from our main warehouse in Lisburn…
“Armed with this information we were able to map out and establish three new cross-dock distribution centres, one each in Dublin, Cork and Galway. With 12 new routes added we were also able to calculate the exact number and type of delivery vehicles we needed to add to the existing fleet.”
Brakes also uses Paragon Multi Depot software to help plan routes for its entire UK operation.
* Elsewhere, Cornwell’s St Austell Brewery has streamlined its delivery planning with Paragon’s Multi Depot software, which will enable the company to reduce the number of depots it has in Cornwall from four to one.
Once the system in up and running, the brewery will be able to operate from one DC based in St Columb Major with the option to use other depots during peak periods.
The implementation is underway and the system is expected to go live during the third quarter of 2009.
