DHL helps generate £2.9m of savings for Network Rail

July 6th 2011

With the support of DHL Supply Chain, Network Rail has achieved £2.9m of savings through its Road Haulage Planning Centre in its first year of operation.

The £2.9m of savings exceeds the initially estimated £1.8m that would be achieved through the Road Haulage Planning Centre, implemented by DHL in February 2010.

The savings have been generated through improved visibility of vehicle availability and fleet management services, resulting in increased efficiencies.

Planning improvements, enhanced haulage price negotiations, and procurement efficiencies have resulted in a 21% consolidation of deliveries.

This consolidation has also enabled the avoidance of 550,000 miles of journeys, translating to around 750,000kg of carbon emissions.

These efficiencies have been achieved through the implementation of innovative processes and technologies at the facility, which include:

The launch of an online web order portal allowing engineers to order their haulage and trace products online
Implementation of a transport management system which sends out automated emails confirming when an order has been placed by the hauler
GPS vehicle tracking technology and sign-on glass for the DHL fleet of vehicles
Automated text messaging alerting recipients that their delivery is 20 minutes away from the point of delivery.
Martin Elwood, Network Rail's National Delivery Service Director, said:

"Network Rail's first preference is always to move our material by rail but this is not always a practical or a possible option.

"The Road Haulage Planning Centre has enabled us to improve the efficiency of our road operation, and has generated significant savings for our business, as well as contributing to our sustainability targets."

Dean Partington, Business Director (Utilities and Infrastructure), DHL Supply Chain UK, said:

"The financial and environmental savings that have been achieved as a result of the Road Haulage Planning Centre's function are impressive.

"We look forward to continue building on this, and are proud of the service we've proved we're able to deliver to rail suppliers."

DHL manages for Network Rail:

The movement of heavy infrastructure materials including short rail, ballast, sleepers, switches and crossings
The movement of non-heavy materials including demand for maintenance spares and inbound freight from material suppliers
Demand for road freight from major programmes
Ad-hoc road haulage services required by infrastructure maintenance and infrastructure investment teams.

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