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Pete Osborne, the boss of Innovate Logistics, has revealed that the firm wants to run a retail regional distribution centre (RDC) in the future and believes it can do it better than some of the big logistics firms. His comments came as the firm launched its ambient division which will initially run across five of its sites.

Osborne says: “That’s our next big step - to work with retailers and  become part of their logistics solution. That’s what we are aiming for across multi-temperature sites. “What [customers] are looking for is a bit more flexibility and the personal service that the [3PLs] can’t offer - that’s the difference between us and Wincanton or DHL-Exel.”

Osborne says that the launch of the ambient operation has been partly prompted by client requests: “Our customers don’t want to be messing about offering different parts of their business out to different 3PLs - they want the same level of good service across the board from one company,” he adds.

However he plays down suggestions that the firm is launching the division in order to keep pace with rivals like Fowler Welch and Culina who have already invested in the ambient sector.

The firm has been running an ambient storage and distribution contract for Nestle  since May this year and sees the launch of a wider operation as a natural extension of this. The division will initially boast 50 vehicles and can offer co-packing and case picking for clients.