Don’t blame DHL for chicken crisis

Blaming DHL for the distribution problems at KFC is wrong, according to Richard Wilding, professor of supply chain strategy at Cranfield and chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.

“Media discussion has pointed a finger at the logistics provider DHL, as well as its reliance on a single distribution centre. On both counts that’s wrong,” he said.

More KFC restaurants have been opening every day since Monday of last week when some 575 out of 900 were forced to close. On Friday, KFC said more than 90 per cent of its restaurants were open.

Wilding said: “Using a single distribution centre in the ‘Golden Rectangle’ between Milton Keynes and Rugby on the M1/M6 is a well-established and proven means of getting products to a network of outlets anywhere in the UK. Big name supermarkets have been working this way from warehouses in Daventry for many years.

“The real reason chicken didn’t get to KFC outlets was simply because it was a new system, involving a group of new partners, running for the first time. Experience has shown that plugging together new software and other technologies leads to teething problems.