The consumer products business is pretty competitive and you don't expect to see rivals working together today. Over in the U.K., it would appear to be "expect the unexpected" time as the largest CPG manufacturers and retailers are looking to "share rides" to move product through the supply chain while reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions at the same time.
According to a report by the Telegraph, companies including Asda, Coca-Cola, Coors, Nestlé, Northern Foods, Pepsi, Unilever and United Biscuits are sharing lorries (aka trucks) on common routes to save "fuel miles."
Nestlé and United Biscuits (UB) took part in a pilot. Both companies were transporting products from their factories and often returning with empty trucks. By sharing routes, fewer trips were made with empty trucks and the total number of journeys was also cut.
"We are determined as an industry to reduce our impact on the environment," Alastair Sykes, Nestlé UK chief executive and president of IGD, which drove the project, told the Telegraph. "At a time when we are dealing with the highest fuel costs in Europe, it is particularly apposite."
By sharing trucks, IGD expects to be able to take about one percent of the U.K.'s heavy vehicles off the road.
Getting companies to cooperate has been a challenge, Mr. Sykes admits. "The grocery industry is one of the most competitive around. We are competing for the air we breathe," he said. "It is all about choosing the right things to collaborate on. I see an enormous amount of agreement for getting on the front foot on the environment."
Discussion Question: Do you know if U.S. companies are exploring a similar truck-sharing program to that in the U.K.? Would such a program be workable here?