CASE STUDY: PHILIPS
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Pascal Gielen, director of transport for EMEA at Philips Lighting, says the recession has not fundamentally altered its transport procurement.
The company spends €200m (E174m) a year on its road transport needs.
Gielen admits that while the firm's long-term strategy is to deliver on promises to customers, short-term goals are "cost-driven".
This will involve outsourcing the running of most DCs, and opening the first DC to serve both lighting and lifestyle markets covering Germany.
"We need to simplify our operation," said Gielen. "We have 275 carriers -we cannot manage that number centrally, so we're moving to a maximum of 50. and the top 20 will deliver 80% of our transport spend."
Philip's buying power means the firm has been able to resist pressure to increase rates, but Gielen admits that transport costs would rise in the future.