Contract to boost Premier Foods’s distribution
The deal will see Premier move its multi-site warehousing operations to a single 60,387m2 XPO-managed national distribution centre in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
The contract covers inbound transport, warehousing and outbound distribution to customers throughout the UK and Ireland.
XPO expected the site to process about 2M pallets of Premier Foods’s products a year – including Mr Kipling cakes and Ambrosia custard. The site has the storage capacity for 80,000 pallets.
Will see 170 staff employed
The contract will see 170 staff employed at the distribution centre and XPO will provide a bespoke fleet of 70 vehicles and 200 trailers for Premier Foods’s use.
XPO Logistics’ business unit director for supply chain in the UK Chris Hyde said: “This is an exciting and significant win for us.
“Our work with Premier Foods will be supported by the scale and flexibility of our operations in the UK, allowing us to provide a fully integrated and seamless solution to Premier Foods throughout their network.”
XPO planned for the site to be fully operational by mid-2018.
‘The kind of scale we require’
Premier Foods’s operations director Paul Thompson said: “The team at XPO Logistics has demonstrated the capabilities to deliver a cutting-edge solution based on extensive experience and the kind of scale we require.
“This strategic integration will be very important in helping us service our customers more effectively. We’re delighted to begin working together, and we look forward to building a long-term relationship with XPO.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week online retail giant Amazon announced it was to open a new distribution centre in Warrington, creating 1,200 jobs.
Amazon said it was increasing the size of its UK fulfilment centre network to meet increasing customer demands, expand selection and enable small and medium-sized enterprises selling on Amazon Marketplace to boost their business.
