A distribution initiative launched by Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF) could have far-reaching consequences for the UK’s small and medium-sized producers.
HEFFroads, launched on Wednesday by the regional food group for the West Midlands, is an on-line system designed to address the problems smaller suppliers have in getting their products to customers around the country.
Available free of charge to HEFF’s 250-plus membership network, it allows companies looking for help distributing products around the UK to search for other companies with similar logistical needs. They can match their specific transport requirements to availability through a find-a-route function, based on start point and destination as well as the type of vehicle needed.
The scheme, while brand new and small-scale, could light the way for similar route-to-market projects in other regions, and potentially efficient and effective nation-wide distribution networks for SMEs in the food and drink sector.
Designed and built by the tic, based at Birmingham’s Millennium Point, the project has been led by HEFF marketing executive Louise Pickford, who told FPJ: “Since HEFF was formed eight years ago, the issue of getting product from A to B has always been high on the agenda for our members.
“HEFFroads addresses these problems on two levels: it provides those producers who have vehicles on the road that are not running at full capacity with an opportunity to make their routes more efficient, and it gives those producers with limited or no distribution an opportunity to piggy-back other producers’ delivery routes and potentially reach more markets.”
The project fits nicely with public interest in local sourcing and reducing food miles, said Pickford, adding that HEFF will be monitoring uptake among its membership before it fully considers the wider potential. She is hopeful a significant proportion of HEFF members will use the facility, at www.heff.co.uk.
“We have done this for our members, so we want them to get the benefit,” she said. “It is a self-managing system. HEFF does not get involved once the producers have made contact. But we will monitor it closely. It covers all distribution possibilities across the UK, so the potential is obvious. It could also open up new markets and cross-marketing opportunities for our members.”
At tic, project manager Opkar Bhatti said his team of programmers has developed a user-friendly system to meet HEFF members’ demands. “This is a huge project and what we’ve achieved in a short space of time is remarkable,” he said. “The proof of the pudding will be when it is being used in the field and with anything like this, you tend to find that the initial goals of the system and the way it eventually gets used are poles apart.
“At the moment, this certainly does not solve the route-to-market problem, but it is an important step towards achieving that. I believe you have to collaborate to compete and the sooner the size of company that this is aimed at begins to work with that in mind, the better.”
