Ocado, the internet grocer has chosen BT Rolatruc as its supplier of equipment for its Hatfield distribution centre on a six-year long-term lease. Head of technical service Robert Bell said: “ The contract was put out to tender. Bt Rolatrucs’ unique selling point is service…and we wanted a fixed-cost over a fixed-term”.
Ocado’s “hub and spoke” home delivery service relies on specially made demountable pods and trailers. The pods are loaded with Waitrose-supplied groceries at the Hatfield centre and then mounted onto the trailers that hold a maximum of six pods.
Once the trailers have delivered the pods to the distribution depots, they separated and transferred on to the Mercedes Sprinter delivery vans.
BT Rolatruc will supply Ocado with BT cargo CBG35 trucks to be used for mounting the multiple pods at the loading base, while a further five CBE 12 tonne counterbalance trucks will be used for container handling at the distribution centre.
“We chose BT Rolatruc because, as a business, we are about service, and we think BT are a good fit,” said Bell. “ They did a lot of development work with us to get our processes right and helped us specify the best trucks for the job. They provide many value-added services, which is good for our business.”
Since its launch in January 2002, Ocado, in partnership with Waitrose, has expanded its delivery service and logistics to now incorporate 4.1 million homes across the UK.
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