This major UK food manufacturer needed a chilled distribution operation that could handle high-volume daily deliveries, urgent shortages and last-minute changes.

 

The challenge

A major UK food manufacturer relies on Really Cool Logistics for regular, time-critical chilled distribution into its customer’s UK distribution network. The core schedule runs throughout the working week, but order volumes and priorities can change quickly. Extra loads, urgent direct deliveries and weekend collections sometimes need to be added with very little notice.

The solution

Really Cool Logistics runs the operation using articulated lorries, 7.5-tonne and other rigid refrigerated lorries, and refrigerated vans, matching the vehicle to the load size and urgency.
On regular articulated-lorry days, a spare trailer is kept at the customer’s production site so it can be pre-loaded while the previous trailer is away. The incoming tractor unit swaps trailers and leaves again, reducing loading delays and keeping product moving efficiently.
Peak days regularly require two articulated movements. RCL also handles smaller direct-to-site deliveries alongside the core trunking operation, including chilled loads of up to 1,000kg.

The operation has repeatedly had to flex at short notice. In one example, three additional direct deliveries were requested late in the afternoon for the following morning and RCL reorganised the collection and routing to cover them. On another occasion, a weekend collection was arranged in under an hour after an urgent Saturday request.

When the customer’s downstream distribution model changed, RCL also reworked the vehicle mix, delivery timings and multi-drop pattern around the new requirements rather than forcing the existing transport plan to fit.

The operation in numbers

  • 5 million+ kg of chilled chicken transported each year
  • Five-day scheduled chilled distribution, with weekend cover when required
  • Handles articulated lorries, 7.5-tonne and other rigid refrigerated lorries, and refrigerated vans within the same operation

The partnership has enabled the customer to:

Keep regular high-volume chilled deliveries moving throughout the working week

Respond quickly to urgent shortages, extra loads and weekend requirements

Change its distribution model without losing continuity of service

The result

The customer has a dependable chilled distribution operation that can handle both predictable daily volumes and sudden changes without disrupting the core schedule.
RCL has become an established extension of the customer’s logistics operation, providing the vehicle flexibility, rapid response and day-to-day coordination needed to keep product moving as demand changes.