Wincanton and Sainsbury’s expand relationship

Wincanton, a supply chain partner for UK business, has been awarded a five-year contract renewal and expansion with J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury’s) which sees it become the lead provider of transport services for the retailer.

Building on a 25-year relationship, Sainsbury’s will move transport services for most of its operations, including Sainsbury’s and Argos, and its central transport functions, to Wincanton. Wincanton will also welcome some 2,000 new colleagues from Sainsbury’s and its partners to join our 1,400 colleagues already dedicated to transport services.

Over the next 15 months Wincanton will work with colleagues, unions, Sainsbury’s, and its partners to support those who are impacted by the change.

By selecting Wincanton as its lead partner for transport services, Sainsbury’s will benefit from a simpler and stronger transport service which will provide better availability for its customers and will drive innovation and best practice across operations.

Wincanton’s proven experience and expertise in operating large-scale operations for major British businesses will also allow Sainsbury’s to be more agile and adapt quickly to an ever-changing external market. By operating at such significant scale, Wincanton will be able to drive modernisation, process improvements and efficiencies for Sainsbury’s.

Wincanton and Sainsbury’s will also work collaboratively to bring advanced technology to the operations, alongside upgrading the fleet. This investment will support delivery of Sainsbury’s carbon reduction targets by 2035.

Wincanton will remain responsible for the Sainsbury’s convenience store operations, servicing stores across London and the south-east of England. This is a continuation of a long-standing partnership where Wincanton has operated logistics for Sainsbury’s convenience stores since its launch in 2013.

James Wroath, Chief Executive Officer, Wincanton: “We’re delighted to have been selected as Sainsbury’s trusted transport partner of choice. Today’s announcement is testament to the high level of service and innovation that we deliver consistently, and further strengthens our long-standing partnership. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the Wincanton team and continuing to deliver exceptional service to Sainsbury’s.”