XPO Logistics has won a five-year warehousing and distribution contract with Iceland, the United Kingdom’s leading frozen food chain. The Deeside, Wales-headquartered retailer, which generated turnover of £2.7 billion in 2015, offers an extensive product line that runs the gamut from fish and seafood to meat, poultry, ethnic ready meals, vegetables, potatoes, desserts and ice cream.
Iceland was recently been named Britain’s best online store by consumers polled in an annual supermarket survey conducted by Which? magazine. The company operates approximately 850 stores and a growing network of “out-of-town” Food Warehouse outlets throughout the UK.
In a concerted effort to help Iceland meet its growth targets, including the opening of up to 40 new stores annually, XPO Logistics has developed a supply chain solution that combines the retailer’s dedicated network with the capacity of its shared-user facilities to accommodate increasing volumes, seasonal peaks and promotional activity.
XPO Logistics will manage Iceland’s distribution centers in Warrington, Enfield, Livingston and Swindon. The scope of responsibilities includes warehousing activities ranging from product receipt to nationwide store distribution, as well as a number of primary collections. All 1,900 workers at the four sites will be reassigned to XPO as part of a phased Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE) process.
In addition, XPO Logistics will manage Iceland’s temperature-controlled fleet of 320 tractor units and 450 trailers, and expects to create further operational efficiencies for the company by implementing an integrated inbound supply chain platform that leverages the retailer’s supplier relationships.
“XPO Logistics shares our values when it comes to putting people at the forefront of everything we do,” said Nigel Morley, Iceland’s supply chain director. “This synergy, combined with XPO’s ability to deliver a flexible and scalable supply chain solution, will help us meet our growth objectives, both now and in the future.”
About XPO
XPO Logistics, Inc. is a provider of supply chain solutions to the most successful companies in the world. The company offers services for truckload brokerage and transportation, last mile logistics, engineered supply chain solutions, high-value-added warehousing and distribution, ground and air expedite, less-than-truckload transportation, intermodal, drayage, managed transportation and global forwarding. It serves more than 50,000 customers with a highly integrated network of over 89,000 employees and 1,443 locations in 33 countries. XPO’s corporate headquarters is in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, and its European headquarters is in Lyon, France.
