14Analysis And there certainly were


surprises.Many operators were predicting congestion to increase by 30 per cent on London’s core routes, but in actuality levels of traffic were in the region of 20 per cent down on usual levels. But the general consensus is that it’s better to have erred on the side of caution, and avoided costly and embarrassing setbacks. Chris Sturman, chief executive of the Food Storage & Distribution Federation, says that overall, “it was well worthwhile”. The novelty of having so little


congestion on the capital’s roads is a success in itself. “That is of course a huge release on the pressure of the system,” says professor Alan Braithwaite. “The planning and information has really helped…Supply chain visibility has been excellent, and has given people the ability to work around the restrictions.”


Only connect Braithwaite says this shows potential for a connected approach to allow logistics providers to respond to actual conditions in real time. Offering timely and reliable data will make it feasible for businesses to engage with it in ways that will really relieve capacity. Likewise the overestimation of


disruption can be capitalised on: “London traffic and delivering in London is always a nightmare and we need to look at what levels of inconvenience were really caused by easing restrictions on night time deliveries,” says Braithwaite. He is not alone in this


opinion. GrahamInglis, chief executive of the EMEA region of DHL Supply Chain, called for Olympics practices to be allowed to remain at his inauguration as president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He hasworkedwith Transport


for London chairing itsOlympic Freight Forum, and has been outspoken about the benefits of relaxing restrictions on night time deliveries. But he says, it was up to the industry to prove that night time deliveriesworked and did not cause serious nuisance to local residents. The London Lorry Control


Scheme requires operators to be licensed to run vehicles over 18 tonnes at night-time and weekends in the capital, and with somany businesses having to change their hours and routes of operation there was real concern about firms getting caught out. However, there were whispers that honestmistakes, especially when conducted in a


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reduction plan, it also explored multi-modal transport by using the river Thames itself. “Through demonstrating the


logistics potential of the River Thames by delivering Olympic Village furniture by barge UPS hopes to encourage greater utilisation of this valuable supply chain channel,” says a UPS spokesperson. The industry’s achievement


UPS used theThames as a route to connect itsTilburywarehouses toNorthumberlandDock to stock the athletes’village.


consideratemanner, wouldn’t be pursued officiously. And in terms of penalties, no


news is good news. Sturman says: “Despite all the efforts and interaction we’ve laid on over the last year, in the last ten days I haven’t heard a word fromour members.” He has seen no evidence of


any disruption at all, at least fromthe logistics providers’ point of view. In the first few days of the games, there were some reports of stands within the park running out of supplies such as freshmilk, but Sturman says: “I think the biggest issue has been fromthe consumer side”. This was not a case of gridlocked queues obstructing deliveries, just a simple misjudgement of demand. “They failed to recognise the magnitude of their task…and I guess they weren’t able to replenish fast enough.” Aside fromnight time


deliveries, there are other adaptations taken on for the Olympics that have potential to carry on for the sake of business profits in the future. Plowden says: “Some companies [were] even sharing resources with neighbouring companies, which might be something that


businesses would continue to benefit fromafter the Games have finished.” Pall-Ex plans to continue


running its new overnight service in London. Adrian Russell,managing director of Pall-Ex, says: “When we launched the service, we offered a guarantee for every single pallet in the postcode areas likely to be affected. This is a promise that we aremore than


has been recognised by London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy,who said: “I've been tremendously impressedwith the response fromboth businesses and the freight and distribution industry. Their planning has ensured that London's restaurants, bars and businesses have had bread in their shops and beer in their pumps, andwe thank themfor theway they have responded to theOlympic-sized challenge.” The Road Haulage


Association’s chief executive, Geoff Dunning, was also effusive in his praise. “Trucks played such amassive, if silent part in the success of 2012... London 2012 has proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that UK hauliers really do deliver.Without them, and the help and assistance fromTfL,


I think it’s a wake-up call to the authorities that they should join up their organisation.


delivering on and will continue to do so. “There has been a lot of talk


about legacy in the last few months and Transport for London has been particularly vocal about this.We aimto make this a permanent addition to our London offering, tailoring it slightly to run from6pmuntil midnight every evening.” UPS has always had a keen


focus on the legacy of its Olympics operations. As well as its cycle and walking deliveries which formpart of its carbon


thismassive success for Great Britain would not have been half as great”. Braithwaite believes that the


key lesson to take fromthe success of theway the games operated, is the level of visibility of operations across the capital, and theway itwas orchestrated. “It has been the first time ever in London that they’ve put all of the key control facilities, such as the police, the ambulance service, and transport together in one room. I think it’s awake-up call to the authorities that they should join up their organisation.” It’s a striking idea that the


simple notion of co-operation between industries and services could unlock suchmassive potential for efficiency. So in the absence of any


disasters, it is the discovery of this potential to excel which is the real shock of the London 2012 Olympics. And if such resounding


The success of relaxing night time andweekend deliveries for the games has encouraged some to seek a permanent change.


success stories are the result of being put to such a huge test, perhaps the wake-up call is that if we keep challenging, we could keep succeeding.


September 2012 Supply Chain Standard


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