Bakers Basco, the membership scheme set up by five of the UK’s leading plant bakers to provide and manage an industry wide bakery equipment solution, has reported a 112% year-on-year increase in visits made by its dedicated recovery team to reclaim equipment which has been delayed, lost or stolen, causing significant disruption to the supply chain.
Since it was formed in 2006, Bakers Basco has worked tirelessly to crack down on the potential abuse and misuse across its pool of four million bread baskets and associated wheeled dollies. This equipment is designed for the sole purpose of transporting bread safely, cost-effectively and in an environmentally-friendly way from bakeries to supermarkets across the UK on a daily basis.
Over the last year, the teams have seen a 112% increase in recovery visits made to premises where equipment has either been taken unlawfully and used by companies without permission, or at stores where there have been blockages of equipment which causes delays to the day-to-day running of its operations. By increasing this level of activity, the team has been able to identify and recover more than 75,000 baskets and over 13,000 dollies for the financial year to date.
In the past few years, Bakers Basco has significantly stepped up its investment in technology by introducing GPS tracking devices across its bakery equipment pool, with the latest update seeing Bluetooth search technology, a corresponding app and supporting software introduced to further improve location accuracy. This, along with a public awareness campaign to encourage the general public and local businesses to report any instances of misuse or abuse, as well as being able to track and monitor the daily movements of its equipment more closely, is proving that these efforts are paying off.
Paul Empson, the new General Manager for Bakers Basco, comments: “Our recent focus on technology, combined with the manpower of our dedicated national recovery team, has proven to be a solid investment, as reflected in the latest figures. Our equipment is designed for the one sole purpose of transporting bread. Sometimes it can be delayed and held up at supermarkets and other times it’s because it has been taken unlawfully and used by companies without permission, both of which cause massive disruption to the supply chain and the day-to-day running of our operations. We will continue to raise awareness by focusing on the reduction in loss of our own and our members’ equipment through negotiation, education, collection and enforcement as we work to provide more efficient working processes.”
