Advanced £24m deal with Makro to create new jobs

A YORKSHIRE-based logistics and distribution company is expected to create up to 60 jobs after securing a £24m three-year contract with Makro, the UK arm of wholesalers Metro.

Advanced Supply Chain, which is based in Bradford, expects to increase its turnover from £20m to £30m over the next financial year, as it continues to find work at a time of economic uncertainty.

Advanced has worked in partnership with Makro for the last eight years, initially distributing fashion ranges.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As a result of securing the latest deal, Advanced will collect more than 1,000 pallets a day from 350 suppliers.

They will be sent to Advanced’s Bradford-based distribution hub where they will be delivered to Makro stores across Britain.

Mike Danby, Advanced’s chief executive, said: “In these days of rising fuel costs and reduced sales margins, it is essential that people are not paying to transport containers and trailers full of fresh air.

“There are cost savings out there, if reviews of supply chains are started with a view to consolidating product wherever possible.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dave Jones, the head of supply chain at Makro, said: “I am delighted to have secured the services of Advanced Supply Chain.”

Mr Danby said Advanced had made a large investment in specialist IT systems, which make it easier to keep an eye on goods while they are being transport- ed.

Mr Danby said the company had achieved growth rates of 20 per cent or more over the last three years, despite the global economic slump.

He said the company would consider acquisitions “if the right one turned up at the right time”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The company has 400 staff, and Mr Danby believes this number could increase to 600 by 2014.

Advanced recently secured a partnership with Sinotrans, China’s largest logistics company.

Sinotrans, which is government-owned, will work with Advanced to offer UK customers end-to-end logistic services for the movement of goods to and from Asia.

A company spokesman said the deal was forged in response to the rapid expansion of China’s economy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sinotrans has more than 100 distribution centres across China, with road, rail and river connections covering most of the country.

Advanced’s UK and EU distribution arm has more than 60 vehicles and a 150-strong trailer fleet, operating from centres in Bradford, Halifax, Rugby, Manchester and Newhaven.

Advanced has invested in a new fleet of liveried double deck trailers, which can accommodate a wide range of pallets and cloth- es.

As a result, Advanced has reported improved turnaround times and reduced costs, which means it has become more comp- etitive.

Related topics: