Honesty pays for atlet

Pedigree Wholesale has switched to Atlet warehouse trucks in a combination of contract hire and outright purchase at its main distribution centre near Nottingham.

By aligning the make-up of the fleet to its precise materials handling requirements, the pet and aquatic products supplier has reduced the number of trucks required, increased efficiency and cut downtime as well as saving on its previous repair and maintenance bill.

"If you're offering a service you have to invest in the equipment to deliver that service," says Darren Willetts, group operations manager at Pedigree Wholesale Midlands. "You pay a bit more for Atlet up front but it's what you get for the money that matters.

"We always purchased our trucks but the older ones were not always looked after properly," adds Willetts.

"It was time for a change and when we looked at suppliers we came across Atlet. Its salesman was excellent and very honest with us. Everything I asked for was delivered." Before selecting Atlet, Pedigree made a thorough investigation of the market. This included taking new and old trucks through an on-site evaluation to assess how they would perform at the beginning and end of their projected lifetimes.

"I am interested in where we are going to be in five years," says Willetts. "I need trucks that last and do what the supplier says they will." A fleet replacement programme was proposed, starting in 2008. Because it kept detailed records of truck operations Pedigree Wholesale realised that there was very little difference between the monthly cost of ownership for outright purchase and contract hire. Putting the trucks that are used intensively - order pickers and powered pallet transporters - onto contract hire made economic and practical sense, although larger trucks have been purchased outright.