Serving the Teesside Business Community | 9
DELIVERING TANGIBLE BENEFITS
THROUGH PORTCENTRIC LOGISTICS
Saving time, money and reducing environmental impact is high on every business’
agenda, especially when importing and exporting goods.
P
D Portcentric Logistics, part of
the PD Ports Group, is helping
businesses do just that - delivering
tangible benefits from portcentric
logistics for SMEs and larger
organisations.
Despite advances in technology and
increased visibility, many companies are
wasting time and energy using an outdated
solution for their supply chain. Family tea
and coffee merchants, Taylors of Harrogate,
best known for their Yorkshire Tea blend,
were doing just that before working with PD
Portcentric Logistics.
Taylors’ previous logistics solution involved
importing containers through the Port of
Felixstowe, then moving them by road to
Bury St Edmunds where they were devanned, stored and delivered by road to the
Harrogate blending site.
In order to streamline Taylors’ supply chain
and introduce cost savings, PD Portcentric
Logistics suggested a portcentric solution
which looked to bring in goods through a
port closer to its final destination and store
the containers within the Port’s hinterland.
For Taylors this meant importing the tea
and coffee through Teesport and using
warehousing positioned within the Port
estate.
Owned and operated by the PD Ports
Group, Teesport is the second largest
container terminal in the North of the UK
with volumes rising 13% year on year since
2007. Providing a strong infrastructure
platform and continued investment, Teesport
is further enhancing its positioning as the
Northern Gateway for containerised goods
destined for the North of the UK.
Rethinking the supply chain saved Taylors
130.90 road miles for every vehicle moved
between the two sites, achieved a CO2
saving of 6.3kg per vehicle and reduced
the need for extra storage at the facility in
Harrogate.
“The new system means
fewer road miles and lower
transportation costs”
David Hinks, contract manager at Taylors,
commented: “The team’s solution allowed
us to completely rethink the import process.
The new system means fewer road miles
and lower transportation costs, and has
allowed us to significantly streamline our site
in Harrogate.”
PD Portcentric Logistics has continued to
support Taylors’ growth by investing £2.5m
in a larger warehouse facility at its site at
Billingham in 2014; and now also carries
out an added-value service undertaking the
collation of tea by assembling bags of tea
from different origins onto one pallet to assist
in the creation of the blends.
Taylors’ continued commitment to using
a portcentric solution through Teesport
highlights the strengths of the port’s
infrastructure network and the continued
first-class service provided by PD Portcentric
Logistics.
To ensure that PD Portcentric Logistics can
keep creating supply chain solutions that will
provide flexibility and cost saving benefits for
the customer, the group continues to invest
in infrastructure improvements to support
growth and development. Over the past five
years, £60m has been invested into various
projects across the company to enhance
and expand its operating platform. As part of
this, the PD Ports Group invested £3m in an
intermodal rail terminal in 2014.
The new rail terminal operates services
between Felixstowe and Southampton with
rail freight provider, Freightliner, and Scotland
with DB Schenker. Opportunities for the
establishment of further new routes to the
Midlands and the North West are expected
in line with market demand. Teesport’s
improved connections offer customers more
flexibility, reliability and choice when working
with PD Portcentric Logistics.
Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports’ business
development director, commented: “We
have invested significantly in expanding the
intermodal services available at the port
which enables us to provide a greater level
of service options, as well as improving our
portcentric capability for our customers.”
There are clear reasons and clearer
evidence why a portcentric logistics solution
suits many modern businesses. Having
helped some of the UK’s leading retailers,
importers and exporters simplify their freight,
warehousing and distribution, and minimise
logistics costs, it is shown that the facts
speak for themselves.