Boots UK seeks firms to collaborate with

Boots UK is looking for firms to collaborate with as it prepares to close its 17 regional distribution centres (RDCs) and replace them with cross-dock centres next year, which will affect their HGV drivers. Phil Hull, the director of retail logistics operations at the health and beauty retailer, tells MT:

“We currently work in partnership with other retailers in a few remote parts of the country. We have been doing it for about a year and it’s working very well.”

The new cross-docks will be strategically located around the UK and Ireland. They will be smaller than the older RDCs, but ideally designed for quick, flow-through operations. Each depot will need around 20 staff to manage it, rather than the 150 to 200 currently running the RDCs.

“All the staff affected by these changes were notified in 2006 of this and a lot of them we hope to re-train and move to other areas of the business,” says Hull.

Asked what type of partners he is looking to collaborate with, Hull says:

“Logically, retailers would fit best, but it could be a haulage or logistics firm in any sector, such as a firm that moves building materials around. Ourselves, along with the Institute of Grocery Distribution, have been trying to push this idea of collaborative working for some time and we’re fully ready to embrace it.”

This will mean much more work and therefore many more HGV drivers will be required. So now has never been a better time to train.