Distribution & logistics specialist DHL has announced a new partnership with shopping centre owner Westfield Group as it seeks to carry out dock management and consolidation services for the Westfield Stratford City centre, it was announced today.
The five-year contract will see the east London centre utilise the company‘s urban logistics consolidation platform in the hope of improving delivery services to the 250 retailers at the flagship development.
A full-time logistics team will be on hand at the site, working with retailers and suppliers on a daily basis to manage deliveries into the centre.
A web-based Delivery Management System designed by DHL is set to control the flow and sequence of deliveries for all retailers, reducing back-of-store and loading bay congestion by providing inbound stock visibility for service yard management operations.
Limiting pollution is also a priority for both DHL and Westfield, and the new consolidation centre located eight miles from the site is committed to reducing emissions by up to 75 per cent and cutting down on vehicle movements to Westfield by up to 80 per cent.
The deal is set to reduce delivery times as pre-agreed preferential delivery windows will be in place, as well as highly secure off-site storage with stock delivered direct to stores, allowing retailers to spend less time focusing on back-end processes and more on core retail activity.
Paul Richardson, Managing Director of DHL Supply Chain‘s UK Fashion unit, said that the company was delighted to have formed a partnership with the retail group.
“The benefits of our consolidation model will ensure reduced congestion at the new Stratford complex during particularly busy periods, whilst driving significant environmental savings and operational benefits for the retailers housed there,” he commented.
Last week, Westfield announced plans to build a centre in Croydon, the London suburb badly affected by the UK riots in August.
Meanwhile, its Stratford store is expected to perform well during the busy Christmas period, and as the most recent shopping offering in the capital has already benefited from strong levels of footfall in the two months since opening.
Westfield Stratford City Director, John Burton, said that the DHL partnership offered an exciting opportunity to its tenants.
“We have worked closely with DHL over the past 18 months to develop a solution to the logistical challenges facing the capital next summer and see the logistics consolidation offering as key to this,” he explained.
“This project also allows us to support our environmental agenda, reducing road traffic movements around the centre whilst ensuring a seamless end-to-end supply chain product for participating retailers at Westfield Stratford City.”
