In a bid to improve its service levels, Smiths News has advised the NFRN that it is undertaking a comprehensive review of retailers’ required delivery times (RDTs).
The exercise is currently underway following a trial in the south west and is expected to be completed by June this year.
Because of the size of the operation, the review will take place across three or four depots at a time.
All Smiths News customers will receive letters from the news wholesaler advising of the review.
The letter says:
“In many cases, these RDTs were set some years ago and may not reflect the trading pattern that your store currently operates.”
Information on the store’s opening times for Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be detailed in the letter, along with the new RDT proposed by Smiths News.
If Smiths News is unable to commit to a RDT as a store opens earlier than it can deliver to it, a scheduled delivery time (SDT) will be agreed.
Smiths News said it was not planning any changes to delivery times as a result of the exercise, but it would enable it to measure its delivery performance against up to date opening times.
Head of news Brian Murphy encouraged Smiths News customers to look out for the letters from the news wholesaler and to check the information on opening and delivery times.
“Smiths News asks in the event of any information being incorrect that customers advise its customers services department on 0345 121 4150 but we would encourage all customers to confirm back to the news wholesaler that they have received the letter and that the information held is correct.”
A in-depth overview of this exercise will be shared in the May edition of The Fed with a Q&A with Smiths News Commercial Director Simon Gage.
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