News

The Pallet Network (TPN) has received a positive response to its campaign to limit the amount of time trucks are forced to wait to make deliveries to regional distribution centres (RDCs). In September last year TPN and its members launched a trial that saw deliveries into RDCs being limited to between 9am and 2pm ('TPN  limits delivery times in bid to cut RDC queues').

TPN managing director Adam Leonard says the trial has been a success. "Our members haven't refused to make deliveries outside of this window, but they have taken the time to talk to their customers. "I think quite a number of members have been speaking to their clients about the issue. The clients are often dictated to by the RDCs, but they are making the owners of the RDCs aware of when it is convenient for them to receive their deliveries."

Leonard adds: "Others are thinking around the problem and working with other retailers using the same RDC and consolidating their deliveries into one truck." Operators cannot afford to have a truck sitting at an RDC for four or five hours and both customers and RDCs are beginning to see this, he says, adding: "Common sense is prevailing."