Wine Consolidation Centre based in CT David Robinson, London SPECIALIST DRINKS logistics group J F Hillebrand has won a contract from Sainsburys to manage its Wine Consolidation Centre (WCC) in Cape Town and the movement of wines to the UK. As the UK’s third largest food retailer, Sainsbury’s sells a large amount of South African wines through its various supermarkets and city centre food outlets. The WCC is based at J F Hillebrand’s Cape Town warehouse which is one of the largest and closest wine specific facilities to the port. The facility has an advanced temperature controlled environment following a sizeable investment in the cooling and insulation system. The UK end of the contract will be looked after by FFG Hillebrand, the group’s British subsidiary. Sainsburys expects the WCC concept to deliver increased product availability, shorter supplier lead times, reduced minimum product order quantities and reduced UK stock holding. Suppliers are responsible for maintaining pre-agreed safety stock levels in the export warehouse, with full visibility of stock, both in the warehouse and in transit, being provided through Axis, Hillebrand’s web-based order management tool.
