After evaluating over 20 warehousing systems, Exel's Tradeteam, the UK's leading drinks supply chain experts, selected Open Business Solutions' Calidus-e for use nationally across 19 warehouses in a deal worth £1 million.
Part of Exel, the global supply chain experts, and a joint venture with Coors Brewers, Tradeteam is the leading independent drinks logistics business in the UK, delivering some 13 million barrels of beer and drinks to over 50,000 outlets every week. Its customers include Coors, Interbrew, Jennings, Avebury and JD Wetherspoon. It has a fleet of 1,000 vehicles and employs 3,500 people at 58 sites across the UK.
"We have some fairly unique complexities and ultimately Calidus-e was the best fit not only for our current needs but importantly it has the potential to support our business as it develops in the future," said Tradeteam's managing director Phil Storer. "We believed that it was important to also select a business with which we knew we could work. If we are to thrive in the drinks logistics market of the future, we must have a partner that can both share our aspirations and provide innovation and future value," Storer added.
The company has seen massive growth in recent years. In 2002 it announced a contract to manage Interbrew's secondary distribution business and further increases are predicted adding complexity to its delivery network and greater demands on its warehouses. "Tradeteam works in an extremely fast-paced environment but recognized that to manage further expansion efficiently it needed a system to address core issues of co-located inventory, age control, cross dock, bulk picking and transhipment," said Open Business Solutions' group logistics director Gill Schofield.
Through the introduction of Calidus-e, Tradeteam as a customer facing business is aiming for enhanced control of stocks and order shipments by having greater visibility across its supply chain. Improvements in accuracy, management controls and processes are also envisaged.
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