Worcester-based contract packing, storage and logistics business Oakland International has notched up £800,000 worth of new business since introducing its innovative chilled consolidation and distribution service. Business has been secured from a host of new customers including Highgrove Food Distribution as well as several UK and European suppliers.
The shared-user scheme means suppliers and retailers can use Oakland’s Redditch base as a consolidation centre before several manufacturers’ products are delivered to their destinations on mixed consolidation pallets. According to Oakland, the economic and environmental benefits mean some manufacturers can save up to 75% by sharing distribution costs.
Oakland general manager Dean Attwell says: “Consolidation has been a major success at Oakland, and since launching it in February 2003 we have expanded from 130 pallets a week to 1,400, a ten-fold increase, in our chilled division. We now offer a cost-effective route to market for small and large suppliers, and the retailers have the benefit of being able to choose from a wider range of smaller suppliers who previously had never considered supplying major retailers.”
Attwell continues: “Ultimately, we are improving on the efficiency of supply chain solutions with a major benefit going to the retailer who can increase their range and choice without increasing their pallet intake numbers.”
