Christmas is a challenging time for most road transport operators. But for chocolate purveyor Thorntons the eight weeks up to Christmas provides 35% of its annual sales, making its pre-Yule logistics of crucial importance.
Dr Tim Swan, Thornton’s transport manager at Alfreton, Derbyshire, say his fleet will move four million ‘outers’ in the run-up to Christmas, each containing perhaps 10 boxes of chocolates. To do this he ‘flexes up’ his workforce from 45 regular drivers to about 58, and
increases his fleet by 50%. “The core vehicle count is 36, but I take 11 vehicles on hire for 11 weeks up to Christmas,” he says. After that he takes on agency drivers or subcontracts work as he needs to, with the proviso that he must know exactly what has been shipped in a subbies’ trailer before putting confectionery in there.
Swan’s team deliver to all Thornton’s 630 owned and franchised retail outlets, and service the Thorntons Direct depot with inter-factory movements. Subcontractors take goods to the
In July Swan put in an order with Sherwood Commercials for five new Iveco
Stralis, which he received the third week of October. Initially the dealership had predicted shipment of the first week of November. “That’s no good to me. I need all my vehicles for the start of this cycle,” says Swan. Earlier ordering was impossible because the company’s end of year is not until June, meaning that no budgets are agreed until the summer. In the end Sherwood delivered the tractor units just one week after the start of the silly season. “Given that Iveco shuts for August I think the lead time was pretty good,” says Swan.
The rest of the fleet is predominantly MAN with some Mercs. The trailers are typically 36ft or 40ft in length in deference to tight urban deliveries; however many of them have dual compartments with the front end temperature-controlled for the large amounts of ice cream that Thorntons delivers to its shops and cafes. The vehicles will stay with Thorntons for about 10 years – or eight if Swan gets his way. We’re not hard on the vehicles. They do about 80,000km a year and they’re not pulling any weight. At Easter the eggs are all fresh air – the loads are so light it’s frustrating.”
Swan has his own on-site maintenance facility which helps vehicle utilisation. Even so he feels the pressures of rising costs as much as any. “We’re always under pressure to shave savings,” he says. “But the company is actually enjoying good times and the strategy is to double sales in three to four years. So I’d need a bigger yard.” Driver retention is high with the longest serving driver there 38 years. It’s hard work hand balling the boxes – “our drivers always complain about their knees” – and Swan hires 20 drivers’ mates at Christmas to help with the manual carrying.
Swan himself has a PhD in plant biochemistry and toxicology. He started working at Thorntons in December 2003 as an office clerk to pay his way through his doctorate. But he never left. “I like logistics, the challenge of it, the way no two days are the same. And I have a wonderful team.” Working for Thorntons hasn’t even put him off chocolate. “I hate Christmas though. I wait here until the vehicles are all in safe and locked up and then I find a nice dark room somewhere…”
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