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There is now less than 1,000 days to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games and construction is on target and on budget to be completed by 2011 when it will be handed over to London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The news came from Christopher Garnett, board member of the Olympic Delivery Authority, speaking at the 3rd Annual Logistics Countdown to 2012.
Mick Wright, head of logistics at LOCOG explained the enormity of the logistics operation, which he said is all about “balancing budget and sustainability”.
An estimated 30 million items will be moved, made up of 10,000 SKUs, and 800,000 sq ft of warehousing space will be accommodated. Some one million delivery miles are expected to be covered to carry out 15,000 deliveries.
The challenge, Wright said, is to provide a safe, secure and reliable supply chain for all clients. The security regime is going to be very different for London 2012 compared to previous games, so supply chain plans have had to be put together in relation to this.
LOCOG has also made a commitment to make this the greenest games, so environmental issues are at the forefront of logistics plans, while keeping within budget.
Speaking later in the morning, David Legge, DB Schenker’s general manager for the Olympics said so far 57 per cent of all materials moved into the Olympic Park have come by sustainable transport – 99 per cent of which was moved by rail – and a total of 75,000 inward lorry journeys have been removed.
Waterways have also been dredged and renovated and have been used to move non-time sensitive products, as well as awkwardly sized items.
Wright highlighted the six key logistics service areas it is responsible for, which are: material management incorporating supply chain planning; customs and freight forwarding; warehouse operations; distribution deliveries; in-venue logistics; and courier services.
It was announced in September that UPS had been appointed as lead logistics support, and will be providing all services except materials management and supply chain planning, which LOCOG will do.
Looking forward, Wright said the number one priority at the moment is to develop an IT system to support logistics operations, as well as securing warehouses and logistics centres, which it is in the middle of doing now.
LOCOG is already in to detailed venue operation planning, which will be completed during 2010, and it is beginning to think about the logistics of the test events in 2011.
It is also starting to think about the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 20:12.
