Bibby Morrisons

Latest centre is third of five planned to open by 2015

Morrisons and Bibby Distribution are set to open their third joint primary consolidation centre (PCC).

The centre, in Kent, will open in the second quarter. It will have a capacity of 10,000 pallets and receive regular deliveries from suppliers across South East England. Goods will then be transported to Morrisons’ regional distribution centres.

It is the third of five PCCs set to open under the partnership by mid-2015. The first two, in Corby and Yeadon, have been in operation since April 2013.

“The PCC model that has been developed for us by Bibby Distribution has already delivered sustainable benefits at the first two PCCs,” said Kevin Yapp, general manager for primary distribution at Morrisons.

“Once all five planned PCCs are open, we expect to have taken out £20m of inventory while improving on-shelf availability.”

Bibby Distribution divisional development director Ian Firth added: “We’ve worked extremely closely with Morrisons to ensure they have the right solution. We’ve created their PCC model from scratch, helping support the deployment of their other programmes.”