Wincanton plc, a leading provider of supply chain solutions in the UK and Ireland, today announces that one of the world’s most iconic food brands, H.J.Heinz, has renewed its long standing contracts.

The renewal sees Wincanton retain the service provision for the Heinz UK transport, warehouse and repack operations until at least 2019 taking the two businesses’ relationship beyond the 20 year milestone.

Working from H.J. Heinz’s automated national distribution centre in Wigan, Wincanton handles circa 35,000 loads, equating to over 90 million cases a year, ensuring the customer’s household name products, including its famous baked beans, soups and sauces, are successfully despatched and delivered to retailers across the UK.

The contract also utilises Wincanton’s extensive network in order to scale operations up and down to meet wide seasonal fluctuations in demand. This focus on maximising assets, including shared transport and warehousing initiatives, also delivers significant environmental benefits, a key factor for Heinz which prides itself on a long term commitment to sustainability.

In addition to transport, warehousing and repack services, Wincanton also provides order management and transport to Heinz Ireland, manages inbound transport of raw material, and oversees the complete process of around 72,000 orders a year.

Commenting on the contract renewal, Andrew Henderson, H.J. Heinz UK&I Supply Chain Director said:

'Wincanton is a proven, quality logistics service provider which offers flexible, expertise and insight to continually drive efficiencies in our supply chain. The partnership between Heinz and Wincanton is a long one which over the years has created value for both parties.'

Eric Born, Wincanton’s Chief Executive, said: 

'We are proud and delighted to extend our partnership with Heinz, and are now firmly focused on looking at future innovations that we can implement to add further value to their business.'