PepsiCo has announced the completion of a £14m upgrade of its Southern Region Distribution Centre (SRDC) based in Leicester, marking this one of the company’s biggest logistics investments in the UK.
A new building has been established with state-of-the-art equipment and technology that will increase the storage capacity at the site by 29%. The company stated that the investment will enable it to better meet growing consumer demand for its Walkers snack brand and ensure products are distributed to supermarkets and other retailers more efficiently.
PepsiCo previously relied on overspill sites that required crisps to be stored and transported to other locations. Now, more crisps can be stored on-site, taking over 600,000km off the road in transportation and cutting CO2 emissions as a result.
As part of the new building, the latest automated technology has been installed to retrieve and move pallets of stock more efficiently. Previously, a crane would have been used to carry two pallets of product across an aisle. These have been replaced with 18 shuttle cars across 9 levels, which can collect, store and assemble stock, with cars able to operate at the same time to make this process quicker and more efficient.
This investment forms part of pep+, the company’s sustainability strategy. Part of this vision includes building a circular and inclusive value chain that’s better for consumers and for the planet.
Andy Smethurst, SRDC Site Lead at PepsiCo, commented: “After two years of planning and execution, our new SRDC building is now open for business, and set to dramatically change our logistics operation. It will create more efficiencies, more capacity, and importantly also take miles off the road so we can reduce our carbon footprint.
“We’re confident that this will allow us to serve our retail customers with more agility, while also ensuring the future success of our distribution centre.”
