Supply Chain Analysis news

Availability issues Operational labour and HGV driver shortages continues to disrupt food supply chains. Food and consumer good businesses have been hit hard by recruitment and retention challenges in 2020 and 2021. This is resulting in lower order fulfilment levels than normal, meaning there is an impact on availability of some food and groceries. The government has committed to a package...

Tesco is launching a line of refillable cleaning sprays that could save up to 60 million pieces of plastic each year. Source: Tesco The range will consist of six private label spray bottles than can be refilled with a solution created by mixing dissolvable capsules with water.  Multi-purpose surface cleanser, kitchen and bathroom surface cleaners, daily shower cleaner and window & glas...

Morrisons is set to be the first supermarket to co-own a new recycling facility in Fife, Scotland. Reprocessing ‘hard-to-recycle’ soft plastics The new site will be able to process 15,000 tonnes of flexible plastic packaging each year. According to Morrisons, the facility, the first of its kind in the world, is co-owned and being constructed by recycling plant specialists Yes Recycling, and...

As inflation hits a 30-year high in the US, we are starting to see retailers shift to a stronger value-led focus, in-store and online. Could this be a foreshadow of what’s to come in 2022? Prices hit 30-year high The annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in October. The scale and scope of the increased commodity, packaging, labour and freight costs which suppliers con...

Having weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, our industry continues to face new challenges. We look at what’s top of the list for the senior team at the Kellogg Company. Growth held back by supply challenges Organic sales increased 5.1% in Q3, with demand at-home remaining elevated and most of its powerhouse brands outperforming their relevant categories. Without some of the supply challenges it...

The UK government has committed to phasing out new, non-zero emission HGVs weighing 26 tonnes and under by 2035, with all new HGVs sold in the UK to be zero-emission by 2040. The first country in the world to commit to such target According to the Department for Transport, the UK will become the first country in the world to commit to such target, which was announced on ‘Transport Day’ at t...

Walmart has selected Dallas-Fort Worth for a new automated fulfilment centre and grocery distribution centre (DC).  The announcement comes nearly two weeks after plans were announced for a new high-tech distribution centre in South Carolina. Centres to open in 2023 and 2024 The project will include the opening of a 1.5 million-square-foot automated fulfilment centre, planned for 2023, and a...

Glasgow, the host city of climate change conference COP26, is set to become the first city in Scotland where Tesco operates a fully electric home delivery fleet. Electrifying the entire home delivery fleet by 2028 The move forms part of Tesco’s plan to electrify its entire home delivery fleet (5,500 vans) by 2028 and become net zero across its Group-wide operations by 2035. According to ...

Silicon Valley-based robotic middle-mile delivery company, Gatik, has begun delivering merchandise for Walmart in fully autonomous vehicles (no human backup) for the first time. Two fully-autonomous trucks Gatik is operating two fully-autonomous trucks on a fixed, 7.1-mile route between an ecommerce distribution facility in Bentonville, Arkansas (Walmart’s hometown) and a Walmart Neighbourh...

Labour shortages impacting availability – shopper research 05-07 November 2021 Availability issues Operational labour and HGV driver shortages has become severe enough to disrupt food supply chains. Food and consumer good businesses have been hit hard by recruitment and retention challenges in 2020 and 2021. This is resulting in lower order fulfilment levels than normal, meaning there is an im...