Supply Chain Analysis news

Sainsbury’s latest results show sales growth for the year ending 16 March 2013. This announcement marks the 33rd consecutive quarter of growth for the retailer. More shoppers fuel growth The retailer reported that total sales growth was up 3.6% for the quarter ending 16 March 2013. Year-on-year growth was up 1.8% helped by weekly transactions which were up over 800,000. The retailer a...

ABF owned Westmill foods has awarded a raw materials handling contract to Potter Logistics. £1m deal Westmill Foods has signed a contract to utilise Potter Logistics' Selby distribution centre (DC) and northern rail freight terminal. The deal is worth £1m, lasts for two years and covers handling, warehousing and transportation of rice. This partnership will serve the supplier’s Yorkshire ba...

Nestlé has opened a new £35m water bottling facility in the UK town of Buxton which combines water bottling and warehousing. Meeting increased demand The site was built to meet the increasing demand for its bottled water brands, Buxton and Pure Life, in a sustainable way. Nestlé says the new bottling lines will significantly reduce energy output, produce the lightest weight water bottles in...

Following a fall in profits, Morrisons announced a range of strategic changes to reverse its fortunes. The retailer intends to take its food offering online and compete with its peers. 2012 results Morrisons posted a 3% increase in turnover to £18.1bn; however like-for-like sales were down 2.1%. Profit was for the year was £901m, representing a 4% decrease. Morrisons CEO, Dalton Phillip...

The new business, ‘The Buyco’, will be responsible for negotiating £5bn worth of sales and this change will see P & H focus soley on wholesale distribution. Divesting retail operation P&H will manage The Buyco but share ownership 50:50 with Costcutter. P&H will also divest its retail operation to Costcutter which includes 800 Mace, Your Store and Supershop. Costcutter will in turn contract P&...

Consumer healthcare company, Omega Pharma, has appointed a new European supply chain projects director. This comes after recently restructuring its management team and appointing a new head of supply chain. Omega Pharma’s brand acquisitions Belgium based Omega Pharma acquired ten over-the-counter brands from GSK in 2012, in a deal worth EUR 470m. These included Lactacyd skin cleanser, Zantac ...

Waitrose posted a strong performance in 2012 with online operations driving its sales growth. 49% sales growth for online Waitrose gross sales for the year ending 26 January 2013 were £5.7bn, an increase of 6.7%. Profits also grew to £292.3m an increase of 12.2%. The fastest growing segment of Waitrose’s business is online, which delivered sales growth of 49%. Growth driving network change...

Leclerc's logistics subsidiary, Scarmour, is to install RFID (radio-frequency identification) readers at two warehouses in France, according to press reports. Improved traceability The RFID readers will be installed at Leclerc's DCs, within its trailers and at its retail outlets around Brittany, France. This system will enable the tracking of up to 300,000 to 400,000 pallets per year in...

Norbert Dentressangle has announced it is replacing its forklift trucks within its UK operations in order to lower its environmental footprint. Whole life cost model The new forklift trucks were not selected simply because of the reduced energy consumption. Norbert Dentressangle instead took at a ‘whole life cost model’ - commonly known as life-cycle cost (LCC) - approach to review its option...

Walmart is planning to open a new distribution centre (DC) in , Mankata, Minnesota, to serve its growing customer base in the area. 159th DC in the US The new 39,000m 2   facility will primarily stock fresh produce and serve Wamart's growing customer base in the upper mid-west of the US. The facility will employ around 300 people and the first phase of development is expected to be complet...