In November 2020, the logistics provider was awarded a contract by the UK government to support the nation’s programme of mass-testing for Covid-19. We were onboarded via the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Logistics and Warehousing Framework Agreement to work alongside DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) and specifically UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) since its formation in October 2021 as an agency of DHSC.
The project involved storage, order fulfilment and customer delivery of mass-testing lateral flow device (LFD) kits to priority locations across the UK.
Reliability and resilience were key to getting the supply chain up and running. Essential institutions such as schools, care homes and pharmacies would be reliant on us to deliver critical testing kits and PPE.
Our credentials within the third-party logistic industry immediately put us in good stead to be a critical go-to supply chain partner and we knew we had to deliver.
Objectives
A project of this scale and under these circumstances (a global pandemic) had never been undertaken before.
This was not a time for trial and error. To ensure the project was carried out seamlessly, we needed to utilise and work with our most-trusted supply chain partners.
Objectives were set to:
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Start delivering lateral flow tests and other associated products in under 30 days post-contract agreement.
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To distribute testing kits to UK schools in readiness of return from Christmas 2020.
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Utilise and build on relationships with established clients – Asda and Parcel Force.
Setting these objectives helped us to thrive under extreme urgency. With a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the routes to market and destinations, we had to be prepared to tackle anything.
The execution
By November 23rd, the business had received the first inbound goods for storage. Just seven days later, the first outbound goods were delivered. Such a rapid turnaround was achieved via:
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Collaboration with our long-standing partner, Asda, to store and deliver the Covid testing kit supply chain – we are the first and only supplier of Covid testing kits and PPE to use a supermarket warehouse space for storage. Asda also supported us to repurpose part of a Wincanton-operated distribution centre in Doncaster, which made use of existing infrastructure and excess capacity at the site.
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Utilising the latest digital fulfilment technologies. A complementary warehouse management system, Wincanton’s Manhattan system, was introduced alongside existing solutions at Asda. We developed an interface for seamless data transfer to DHSC’s Oracle system. The reporting functions within Manhattan were critical to support traceability of product to the end user. Additional reports requested by DHSC were also implemented, as these functions were not available in Oracle.
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Handling the testing kits with care. We implemented temperature monitoring on site in-line with the requirements of the product, and a full RF (radio frequency) network was delivered at pace to support the entirety of the operation.
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Joining forces with trusted partner, Parcel Force, to ensure our credentials were upheld and the kits were delivered on time.
By setting up the above, we created a supply chain to store 324 million Covid mass-testing kits and deliver up to 22 million kits-per-week for the UK government in just 20 days.
Outstanding collaboration
Wincanton’s team culture is very collaborative. Having this established culture within the business facilitated us to pull together a successful supply chain so quicky. We were able to collaborate with our established partners, Asda and Parcel Force, incredibly swiftly – so much so, we were able to exceed targets in terms of delivery time, with testing kits arriving only 20 days after the contract was agreed.
Our collaborative culture also helped us to recruit colleagues from other parts of the business to urgently work on the project.
For example, we were able to bring in people who worked in our retail supply division to this much more complex project. Realising the gravity of the situation and the importance of a quick turnaround, they were more than willing to step up to the challenge and work on something completely new to them. Some even took on more senior roles. A Multi-task Operative, previously a warehouse employee, began operating as a Team Lead on the ASDA contract. This individual was identified to add value to the operation and as such was assigned as the Operations Manager on the contract, learning all aspects of the operation, managing the operation, customer calls and all day-to-day functions.
Keeping schools open
Wincanton responded rapidly to deliver millions of units of Covid-19 testing equipment and PPE to schools across a three-week period in summer 2021. This was in addition to the already strenuous testing kit operation being delivered.
Wincanton’s rapid response involved the packing and distribution of 30,000 kits to UK schools before the end of the school year. In meeting this objective, we ensured the speedy, safe and accurate distribution of testing kits for the purpose of testing asymptomatic school children. The kits were made up of over 64 million units.
COP26
We were asked to support the high-profile COP26 event in 2021. We provided 800 thousand units of testing kits prior to the event with just 24 hours’ notice, so that influential world leaders could safely congregate to discuss future-defining global warming initiatives in Glasgow.
Innovation: Continuous improvement
We had numerous key focus areas that we monitored continuously during the supply chain process. This was predominantly to ensure no mistakes were made, but it also meant we were continuously improving our distribution and delivery service.
Key focus areas were:
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Service Performance – Weekly reporting reconciliation was put in place to improve the resilience of Service Level Agreement (SLA) delivery and accuracy in reporting.
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Batch Number Tracking – Implemented to streamline the process for matching Batch Code tracking to delivery location. This meant we were able to recall any products that were deemed unfit or unsafe, at short notice.
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Capacity Increase V1 – Increasing the throughput capacity of the operation beyond the original scope to match revised DHSC requirements.
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IT interfaces – Regular monitoring of our Order Interfaces: IT teams were continuously monitoring the efficiency of our Manhattan system.
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Move to ANSIx12 integration pattern to future proof the operation.
Benefits
Our efficient distribution of testing kits and PPE during the height of the pandemic demonstrated to customers that we are one of the most reliable supply chain services in the country.
Flawless audits: We have achieved 100% Stock Integrity across all five of our National Audit Office visits and demonstrates the quality service we offer our customers.
We are pleased that our collaborative relationship with DHSC/ UKHSA now extends to more than 3 1/2 years and Wincanton is now SSP (Sole Service Provider) for the warehousing and distribution of LFDs.
The standout achievements from this unique and momentous project included:
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Delivering lateral flow tests and PPE in under 30 days post-contract agreement with DHSC/UKHSA.
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Over 2.3 billion (as of April 2024) lateral flows now delivered by Wincanton.
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Securing several contract extensions with UKHSA – We take great pride in the part we played in helping get the nation back on its feet.
The supply chain of choice
Collaboration with established and trusted partners, an immense amount of teamwork and a focus on the smart warehouse management system meant that we were able to step up to the plate at the country’s ultimate time of need.
Such a forward-thinking and collaborative approach resulted in us proudly delivering millions of testing kits and PPE, which undoubtedly was a key support for the national covid response across the UK.
