The Thresher Group, one of the UK’s leading independent, specialist drinks retailers, has awarded a contract valued at around £100M to Tradeteam, an Exel company, to become its sole UK drinks distributor for its 2,000 shops in the UK until 2010.
Thresher and Tradeteam have been working closely together for the past year to develop an innovative and bespoke solution for the retailer. This has involved re-engineering the company’s existing drinks distribution supply chain, introducing new information technology to support improved forecasting, procurement and warehouse operations and reduce inventory levels within the supply chain. Tradeteam will manage the contract by combining the benefits of dedicated operations with its shared-user network to deliver some 22 million cases per year to Thresher Group’s UK outlets, including Threshers, Victoria Wine and Wine Rack.
Stuart Higgins, Thresher Group’s supply chain director, says: “Since working with Thresher, Tradeteam has demonstrated a clear commitment to continuously improve service levels and innovation in the supply chain which are vital ingredients to the continued success of both businesses. For Thresher this deal ensures that our distribution services are handled by the industry-leading specialist which allows us to concentrate on building our market share in the off-trade sector.”
This new contract is Tradeteam’s first direct contract with a specialist, off-trade drinks retailer and builds upon its successful business win with Interbrew UK, announced last year.
