£12.5m depot open
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THE FLAGSHIP of the NFC was National Freight Consortium chairman Sir Peter Thompson's name for a £12.5m BRS Western distribution centre near Bristol, which he officially opened last week.
The Yate distribution centre operates a dedicated delivery service exclusively for J. Sainsbury, delivering to 40 of its stores in South West England, South Wales and as far east as Reading and Bournemouth. BRS Western replaces Cory Distribution, which operated the contract from Newport.
The Yate distribution centre, built on a 15 acre site, was first operational in June in time for the pre-Christmas peak. It has 21,000sqm (225,000sqft) of storage at various temperatures from ambient for the non-perishable lines down to —20 degrees C for meat.
The pallet racking is five high and stock entry/order picking is computer controlled, issuing instructions for the fork lift drivers. The majority of goods are assembled in roll cages.
The all-artic fleet at Yate comprises 36 Scania 82 units for 32-tonne gcw operation and four Scania 112 units for 38 tonne gcw work.
The 52 semi-trailers include three Sainsbury-owned stepframe tri-axles incorporating power-operated upper decks; they have progressed beyond the prototype stage despite some initial industrial relations problems.
Yate general manager Robin Teverson said that the fleet has to achieve a 99.4 per cent service level to satisfy the demand of the five-year contract with Sainsbury.
Some of the larger stores have two deliveries a day, others three a week.
Opening the centre Sir Peter Thompson emphasised that Yate represents "just the tip of our distribution iceberg", singling out dedicated services, in particular. "Distribution is the game NFC has got to get into."
• BRS Western's former managing director Ron Irons, now in command at NFC-owned SPD last week refused to comment on speculation that elements of SPD and BRS are candidates for integration. He would only say: "We have to take a hard look at SPD."