Lucas parcels review
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Lucas Industries in Birmingham is carrying out an urgent review of its £500,000-a-year UK parcels movement costs. It plans to rationalise its suppliers from more than 15 to "a handful".
Sandi Cheshire of Lucas says the review is part of a companywide initiative to examine all its operating businesses.
"At the moment we're dealing with more than 15 separate parcel delivery companies at more than 50 of our company sites through the UK," she says. "Some charge us on a weight basis, others charge us per mile. Our plan is to arrive at a standard agreement, to simplify things down to one single, and better, rate throughout the country.
"Because of the different methods of charging used by some suppliers, it was difficult to make direct comparisons."
Lucas has not yet set itself a goal for the percentage cost reduction, says Cheshire: "It would be point less doing that until we have all the data." Although Lucas is best known for its association with the motor industry in the Midlands, its other operations, such as aerospace, are based at a network of sites throughout the UK.