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ALL FAT FREE
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If Morrisons buys Safeway, which looks likely, it will also acquire a new all singing, all-dancing software system which promises to save millions in distribution costs. Emma Penny reports.
Running trucks efficiently out of a single depot can be a stressful job.What about running a fleet of 723 tractive units and 1,750 trailers from 20 depots throughout the UK, delivering 14 million cases a week into 500 stores that have notoriously restricted delivery windows?
That's the scale of Safeway's operation, but if the rumour mill is correct and Morrisons buys Safeway,it will buy into an all-singing, alldancing software system that will cut empty running and boost efficiency dramatically.
Well that's the theory — but Safeway bosses are convinced that it will save millions in distribution costs, so whoever ends up in charge of Safeway will be more than delighted to inherit the system (see panel opposite).
Its system processes 7,500 orders a day from the 500 stores, and this, alongside load planning for the UK, is carried out at Safeway's Northampton depot, which is run by Wincanton. Individual members of staff are allocated particular RDCs, but regional depots do have their say in the planning process — Safeway is anxious to make use of their specialised local knowledge, and RDCs can comment or change details on plans coming out of Northampton.
Under the new system a vehicle running out of Northampton might travel to Birmingham. then onto Tamworth for a load, and then back to Northampton via Milton Keynes.
Trimming waste
Safeway project manager John Bridle explains that RDCs used to plan their own runs; now that planning is handled at regional level the software is helping to track, and cut. empty running: "We are now looking at supplier performance too, such as whether they are late for collection times or their transport costs are too high." The next phase will entail fitting in-cab Qualconun information systems to facilitate communication with drivers. If a driver is running behind time the system will automatically reschedule his day and can pull in ar additional truck to cover where necessary.
The system will even cope with the Workin; Time Directive, supply chain director Mark Aylwin reports. Fuel monitoring will be part this, and as the company uses 45 million litres of diesel a year, any savings here will have a significant effect on profitability.
At the same time new front office software will start dealing with costs and efficiency, highlighting anything which could be improved. That will be matched by a yard management system — all trailers will be fittel with a radio frequency identification tag and will be tracked throughout the system-11ns means their parking slot in the yard will be instantly identifiable, which is in itself a big step forward: apparently it can take 10 minutes to find a specific trailer on one of Safeway's larger sites.
This system will also locate a trailer anywhere in the country, which will help maintenance, and given that semis can be anywhere in the UK within a 24-hour period, that's certainly a step forward.
Reality check
It sounds like the holy grail of distribution, but will it work in practice? Safeway's Aylwin reckons it will, and he believes his rivals will be keen to get their hands on the kit:"We are using a lot of technology. It's IT that's already out there but we're the first to link it. But anyone taking over would welcome the supply chain we've developed."
Mind you, as a supermarket man he's looking at the potential savings in a different way to many operators. Rather than thinking about increasing profitability, Aylwin says: "Every £1 we save in transport costs is another £1 we can put into deals for our customers."
But they are savings all the same. •