Greggs gets a taste for transport savings with Paragon routing and scheduling software

Leading high-street baker Greggs is embarking on a national roll-out of Paragon-optimised routes and schedules after a trial in Manchester demonstrated that the routing and scheduling software could improve delivery patterns, save eight vehicles and cut transport costs by £200,000 a year at this one location.

Greggs specialises in sandwiches, savoury products and sweet lines, and operates a fleet of 250 vehicles delivering to over 1,100 stores across the UK. It’s a complex distribution operation involving frozen, chilled and ambient produce and overnight deliveries which leave the 12 bakeries as soon as products emerge from the ovens at 3am to reach stores by 7am.

As part of a major review of its fixed route operations designed to drive operational efficiencies, Greggs undertook a detailed evaluation of available software solutions. Paragon was selected, says national logistics project manager Paul Duggan, “As it stood head and shoulders above the competition in meeting our demanding requirements.”

The introduction of Paragon’s Multi Depot routing and scheduling software has enabled Greggs to develop a more cost-effective distribution strategy. Using Paragon to double-shift their vehicles during test runs of the project in Manchester Greggs were able to distribute fresh produce overnight, while chilled and frozen products were delivered throughout the day.  As a result, Greggs has been able to reduce its Manchester fleet size by eight trucks, expects to save over £200,000 annually, and is looking to roll the project out on a national scale.

As well as playing a central role in fixed-route re-planning as the project is rolled out on a national scale, Paragon is also being used strategically to seek out further improvements.

“When we want to look at our existing routes and see if they are efficient, or where savings can be made, we run them through Paragon, the software can also be used to determine the additional transport costs related to new store locations.

Paragon has been the primary tool used to implement the programme, so it really is a vital piece of kit for us. Not only is it able to handle all the different temperature zones we work with, it is also able to asses whether shops are being serviced by the right central bakery, helping us to improve utilisation. It has also improved our delivery reliability as we are able to ‘sense check’ any routes that drivers advise us are especially problematic.” Paul Duggan, National Project Manager, Greggs