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We are delighted to share the achievements of our local businesses and this week we are pleased to share  that Magna Park based business, Armstrong Logistics Ltd. has won a highly prestigious award in the Grocer Gold Awards 2020.

Armstrong Logistics is the long-time logistics partner of Aldi's, having worked together for two decades, during which time they have developed consolidated logistics centres in a number of locations, including Magna Park, near Lutterworth.

The logistics business felt that their stock management process had been a bit 'cumbersome', and therefore set out to introduce greater transparency across their whole supply chain to ensure stock levels were managed and waste reduced.

Their answer to the problem was to create an online portal – a web-based system that provides total visibility across the supply chain and comprehensive reporting. 

The portal proved so successful that it was rapidly rolled out to the network of 285 active suppliers with whom Armstrong Logistics deals on a daily basis.

The benefits are multiple - the tool provides real-time availability levels and reporting tools to find the root causes of poor stock holding and performance issues.

If a product is running low, their customers can now see when the next delivery is due. If there is a delay and they are likely to run out of stock, the customer is immediately prompted to establish whether the product can be brought in sooner and, if so, Armstrong will arrange collection and delivery. This has led to a dramatic reduction of insufficient stock issues. 

Plus, Armstrong can manage stockholding to ensure that their customers do not understock or overstock, keeping costs to a minimum and eliminating unnecessary waste – crucial in Aldi's efforts to keep prices low.

A substantial development and investment in IT by Armstrong, it was an initiative which marked a significant step change in the relationship, by providing each party with ownership and avoiding any break down in the supply chain.

As a result of their development of this innovation, Armstrong Logistics were awarded Supply Chain Initiative of the Year at the National Grocer Gold Awards 2020.
 
On reflecting on their success, Armstrong Logistics, Commercial and Finance Director, Marcus Fischer, said, "We are extremely proud to be Aldi's approved logistics partner. We feel that this significant investment has shown that we are constantly striving to improve our efficiency and also demonstrate that the logistics sector can adapt and embrace new technology to stay ahead of increasing customer expectations."

A huge congratulations to the Armstrong Logistics team. It is a great achievement to be recognised on a national scale and we look forward to seeing how they continue to grow and develop in Harborough District in the coming years.

You can watch the finale of the Grocer Gold Awards 2020 via the link below, with Armstrong Logistics featured from 11:05mins into the video, via the link below