CHEP Europe awards procurement contract to Xchanging

Source: Wall Street Journal, 6th April 2010

CHEP, the global leader in pallet and container pooling services has awarded a five-year procurement outsourcing contract to Xchanging.

As part of the contract, Xchanging will manage GBP 75 million of spend per annum (GBP 375 million of spend over five years) on behalf of CHEP Europe and help integrate and standardise procurement processes for CHEP's business across the UK, France, Germany and Spain for their non-core categories.

Commenting on this contract, Marcelo Di Benedetto, Sourcing & Quality Director, CHEP Europe said, "We believe in constant improvement to provide the highest value to our customers and shareholders. Outsourcing our non-core procurement to a specialist will provide us access to industry- leading expertise and global best practice in procurement processes and technology. We expect a number of benefits including increased efficiency, reduced costs and internalisation of best practices. Our goal is to spend smarter and get the best value from our supplier relationships."

David Andrews, CEO, Xchanging, added, "We are delighted at the prospect of working for a global leader that understands that efficient processes are a competitive edge."

Xchanging will consolidate spend management and help reduce overall non-core procurement costs across CHEP's European businesses. The contract will include sourcing of non-core categories and a large proportion of procure-to-pay activities.

Operating in 45 countries, CHEP serves customers in diverse sectors. Their global partners include Procter & Gamble, SYSCO, Kraft, Nestle, Ford and GM.

CHEP is part of Brambles Limited, a leading provider of supply chain and information management services through its two businesses, CHEP and Recall. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Brambles operates in 47 countries and employs more than 12,000 people.