DHL secures £17m British Gas deal

DHL Supply Chain has been awarded a contract worth £17m over five years to implement a national supply chain solution for British Gas. The deal will focus on optimising the financial and environmental efficiency of British Gas’ UK smart meter roll-out.

Designed to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, smart meters are to be rolled out to every home in the UK. British Gas has selected DHL to deliver an advanced smart metering national supply chain solution, to facilitate the installation and maintenance of over 16m smart meters for its 12m customers.

DHL will deliver a national supply chain using a regional network to manage meter assets including smart meters, in-house displays and associated ancillary items from British Gas’ national warehouse to DHL’s national distribution network of collection points.

The regional model will provide the flexibility required to manage the short- and long-term volume fluctuations expected while utilising local collection points will minimise the downtime of the team installing the meters and provide a secure means of collecting and depositing materials.

Additionally, DHL’s network will manage returned meters from collection points to the relevant asset owners, while DHL will work closely with British Gas to further minimise the environmental impact of the roll-out through the management of waste materials and the use of teardrop trailers.

DHL will fully integrate with current British Gas systems to provide real time track and traceability of metering assets at serial level number, at all points throughout the supply chain. The end result is a supply chain that ensures British Gas is able to deliver a positive customer experience throughout the roll-out period.

Rob Morton, supply chain director at British Gas, said: “The flexible regional solution implemented by DHL will enable us to effectively manage the volumes expected across the roll-out period while maintaining exceptional service quality. We are confident that the robust and cost-effective solution proposed by DHL will help kick-start our smart meter roll-out.”

Tim Slater, managing director, Industrial, DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland, added: “DHL already operates smart metering operations across Europe and has the experience and capability to provide British Gas with a reliable solution for this complex and large scale roll-out in the UK. Our partnership with British Gas will support mutual growth objectives in the market while facilitating the creation of new jobs. Additionally, the in-built ability to review the metering supply chain model enables DHL to deliver year-on-year innovative improvements, providing further operational and financial benefits to British Gas.”