Bakers Basco, the membership scheme set up by five of the UK’s largest plant bakers to provide and manage an industry-wide bakery equipment solution, has redeployed significant manpower and resources to track down any backlogs of equipment diverted out of the supply chain, whether intentionally or by mistake.
With the national driver shortage continuing to cause disruption to many businesses, Bakers Basco has taken the decision to redistribute its national investigations team to visit 50% more locations of interest between October and December, with a particular focus on unsecured locations of interest that the company already holds data on.
By implementing additional GPS trackers across its equipment pool and extending the reach of the manpower in its tactical investigations team to new locations across the UK, Bakers Basco will be in a much stronger position to identify and reclaim any equipment which has been delayed, lost or stolen, in a much more time effective manner.
“There’s a lot of disruption currently happening across the supply chain and we’re taking no chances,” said Paul Empson, general manager at Bakers Basco. “By redeploying time and resource to the recovery of equipment and stepping up our efforts yet again, we can ensure the steady supply of bread and other baked goods across the UK, at the same time identifying any backlogs, locations of interest and illegal recyclers.”
Following the recent upgrade of its GPS tracking technology – which now comes with 4G connectivity, improved signal range and ring alerts triggered based on location – Bakers Basco’s national investigations team have been able to track assets much more effectively.
The use of these trackers has significantly reduced losses and improved recovery levels by supporting Bakers Basco in finding and reclaiming missing equipment, which is often diverted out of the supply chain by third parties using it without permission. Evidence gathered through the use of GPS-equipped products has been instrumental in securing judgement in Bakers Basco’s favour in a number of court cases.
Since it was formed in 2006, Bakers Basco has worked tirelessly to crack down on the potential abuse and misuse across its pool of four million bread baskets and associated wheeled dollies. This equipment is designed for the sole purpose of transporting bread safely, cost-effectively and in an environmentally-friendly way from bakeries to supermarkets across the UK on a daily basis.
