Consultants in Logistics

AKW: Delivering a Supply Chain Strategy

AKW Medicare is the UK’s leading manufacturer of accessible bathroom, kitchen and daily living aids for people with reduced mobility. AKW’s UK operation supplies the majority of social landlords, local authorities and care and nursing homes, as well as contractors and distributors across the UK.

With a head office, warehouse and distribution centre in Worcestershire, AKW carries around 4,000 products and offers a next working day delivery service on all stocked items.

In order to continue to deliver exceptional customer service, AKW invited Davies & Robson to assist in the determination of the optimum logistics strategy and then to help choose a suitable supplier to fulfil their delivery requirement.

Davies & Robson managed the tender process, which included:

  • Preparing the necessary data sets
  • Preparing the specification of requirements
  • Identifying suitable suppliers
  • Advising on alternative pricing structures
  • Evaluating contractor submissions
  • Advising on selection criteria
  • Preparing the contractual agreement
  • Assisting with contract submission

Following an extensive outsourcing exercise, the contract was awarded to XPO who could offer a flexible last mile solution for AKW using a dedicated truck fleet running an average of 30 routes per day. Products are distributed to trade and e-commerce customers from AKW’s Droitwich Distribution Centre and four XPO satellite sites. Orders are delivered within one day of receipt in accordance with AKW’s next-day service offering. XPO also shuttles stock between AKW warehouses in Droitwich and provides palletised transport and global forwarding services as needed.

View All Case Studies