WINE wholesaler Bibendum has appointed Tradeteam to handle its warehousing and distribution needs
The three-year deal sees DHL-owned Tradeteam, whose customers include Molson Coors, AB InBev, Mitchells and Butlers and JD Wetherspoon, replace London City Bond (LCB) – Bibendum’s distributor since 1994. The three will work together to transfer stock and operations, which is expected to be completed by February 2012; Bibendum’s relationship with LCB will continue, though, as customers’ private reserves will remain at LCB’s Vinotheque warehouse.
Bob Smyllie, Bibendum’s director of operations, said the growth and diversity of its customer base drove the decision to appoint a new distributor.
“We are very grateful to LCB for all their effort and dedication over the past 17 years,” he said.
“We are very proud of what we have achieved together; and now look forward to working with our new partners at Tradeteam. I have every confidence that we can emulate the success we have experienced with LCB over the past one and a half decades. We have been incredibly impressed with Tradeteam’s professionalism and service offering and are confident of a smooth transition which will result in an increased number of our customers enjoying even shorter delivery lead times.”
Tradeteam said Bibendum’s customers will be serviced using a dedicated core fleet from September. Vehicles will operate between a main national stock holding at one of Tradeteam’s southern-based warehouses and a secondary stock holding in Scotland, along with four regional distribution centres.
“This is a fantastic win for Tradeteam,” said MD Gavin Murdoch. “We are really looking forward to developing an effective partnership with Bibendum, working together to exceed the expectations of its very diverse customer base and to create the industry’s leading wine delivery network.”
