DHL Supply Chain has been awarded a five year contract with the Westfield Group to providelogistics services at London’s new Westfield Stratford City retail complex, which is home to more
than 250 retailers and the gateway to the Olympic Park at next year’s London Olympics.In a deal marking a new business relationship between the two organisations, DHL Supply Chainwill provide a consolidation and dock management delivery solution to the flagship retaildevelopment. The contract value was not announced.
Westfield Stratford City, described as “Europe’s largest urban shopping centre and theprestigious gateway to the Olympic Park”, is a newly built £1.45 billion, 1.9 million sq ft retailcomplex that opened in September 2011. It is located next to the Olympic Park, and according toWestfield, 70 per cent of all visitors to next year’s London Olympics will arrive at the Games viaWestfield Stratford City.
To support the contract, DHL is locating a full time logistics team at the site, working withretailers and suppliers on a daily basis to manage deliveries into the centre. A web-based DeliveryManagement System designed by DHL Supply Chain will control the flow and sequence of deliveries forall retailers. Designed to reduce back-of-store and loading bay congestion by providing inboundstock visibility for service yard management operations, the bespoke system will ensure stockreaches retailers’ shelves in the most expedient manner.
DHL Supply Chain will also operate a strategically located consolidation platform eight milesfrom Westfield Stratford City, allowing retailers and suppliers to deliver stock into a warehousewith 24 hour availability and assisted deliveries. This will provide additional flexibility toretailers’ final mile logistics operations and reduce vehicle movements to Westfield Stratford Cityby up to 80 per cent.
The consolidation platform provides retailers with an extensive range of additional services,including pre-agreed preferential delivery windows, highly secure off-site storage and stockdelivered direct to store – allowing retailers to spend less time focusing on back-end processesand more on core retail activity.
The consolidation centre will also benefit the environment and local community by reducingpollution emissions by up to 75 per cent for retailers using the platform. More deliveries will bedirected into the consolidation centre using main roads, directing lorries away from pedestrianisedurban areas, easing congestion around Westfield Stratford City and improving road safety.
John Burton, Director, Westfield Stratford City said: “Westfield sees the partnership withDHL as an exciting opportunity to deliver an industry leading logistics offering to our tenants. Wehave worked closely with DHL over the past 18 months to develop a solution to the logisticalchallenges facing the capital next summer and see the logistics consolidation offering as key tothis. This project also allows us to support our environmental agenda, reducing road trafficmovements around the centre whilst ensuring a seamless end to end supply chain product forparticipating retailers at Westfield Stratford City.”
Paul Richardson, Managing Director of DHL Supply Chain’s UK Fashion unit, added: “We aredelighted to have entered a new business relationship with Westfield. The benefits of ourconsolidation model will ensure reduced congestion at the new Stratford complex during particularlybusy periods, whilst driving significant environmental savings and operational benefits for theretailers housed there.”
The Westfield Group operates one of the world’s largest shopping centre portfolios withapproximately 25,000 retailers and over 10 million sqm of retail space across the globe. DHL SupplyChain has been managing consolidation operations for almost 20 years and is the market leader inleveraging maximum benefit from city logistics, currently providing over 400 retailers withconsolidation services each day.
