Bibby is to open a third primary consolidation centre for Morrisons. The 10,000-pallet capacity site in Kent will draw in regular deliveries from a variety of suppliers based in the South East.
Kevin Yapp, general manager for primary distribution at Morrisons said: “The PCC model that has been developed specifically for us by Bibby Distribution has already delivered substantial benefits at the first two PCCs, which have been in operation since April 2013. The time is now right to expand out to a new region. Once all five planned PCCs are open by mid-2015, we expect to have taken out £20m of inventory while improving on-shelf availability.”
Bibby creates full multi-sku, multi-vendor loads, which can be taken to regional distribution centres across the country, enabling supermarkets to benefit from ‘little and often’ deliveries, and Morrisons can optimise its delivery centre use, reducing operating costs.
The use of PCCs means Morrisons can use its own vehicles returning to distribution centres to collect loads from suppliers at backhaul rates, driving down costs while boosting fleet utilisation.
Bibby operates two PCCs for Morrisons in Corby and Yeadon, covering the Midlands and North of England respectively. The aim is to cover the whole country by the middle of 2015.
