Premier Foods - Case study: Fewer transport miles

After signing FDF's transport commitment, Premier Foods established a Group Transport Steering Committee to develop an aligned approach to its transport fleet, to share best practices and to deliver environmental and commercial benefits to the business.

In 2009, the company's Grocery Division improved its vehicle loadfill by 7% which saved the equivalent of 2,500 deliveries that year. Round trip miles are on average 350 miles per delivery which means that this initiative alone has reduced the number of delivery miles travelled by 875,000.

In 2009, the Hovis bread business brought in 187 new vehicles which meet the latest Euro 5 emissions standards. The business unit has also implemented dynamic planning of primary routes to optimise vehicle fill (the number of baskets carried per trailer).

In 2009, the volume of Hovis products carried increased by 13%, but primary journeys only increased by 8% thus achieving an annual delivery miles reduction of 1,679,037.

Premier's Chilled Ready Meals and Cake Division has focused on a tractor unit replacement programme, focusing on selection criteria such as improved MPG performance, reduced tail pipe emissions and improved aerodynamics.

The programme has improved miles per gallon travelled from 8.69 in 2008 to 9.52 in 2009, which is an 8% improvement year on year. The Division has also increased its use of double deck trailers which has achieved a 5% year-on-year reduction in delivery miles travelled – the equivalent to a 100,000 miles reduction.

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