£83m defence logistics hub opened in Shropshire
The Ministry for Defence Procurement has officially opened its £83m logistics centre in Shropshire.
The 80,000 sqm Defence Fulfilment Centre (DFC) at Donnington is intended to streamline distribution and storage services for the UK’s armed forces.
The facility, the size of 10 football fields, is aimed at delivering savings of around £500m by 2028. It will function as a central hub for the storage and distribution of the MoD’s £30bn inventory, including spare parts, food, clothing, and medical supplies.
Opening the facility, Defence Procurement Minister, Harriett Baldwin, said: “The DFC will transform the way we store and distribute essential supplies to the armed forces.
“Supported by our rising defence budget, this £83m investment and partnership with leading logistics specialists is concrete evidence of our determination to give our personnel the very best support wherever they are in the world.”
The DFC consists of two warehouses and a support building. The facility will be managed by Kuehne + Nagel on behalf of Team Leidos. It will use new warehouse management systems to maximise value for money and manage the various complex supply chains.
Alongside special environmental storage, the DFC’s automated storage and retrieval system will be capable of picking more than 1,000 items an hour.
Chief of Material (Land) at the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support organisation, Lieutenant General Paul Jaques said: “The DFC will transform the way we support our servicemen and servicewomen. Contribution to Operational Readiness through the provision of supplies and commodities to our armed forces will be on a par with industry best practice as a result of this investment in state-of-the art facilities.”
The site has been opened as part of the Logistic Commodities and Services Transformation (LCST) programme.
Leidos chairman and CEO, Roger Krone said: “The completion of the DFC is an important milestone in our strategic plan to deliver enhanced information technology and logistics services to the armed forces.
“This state-of-the-art facility is a conduit to ensuring front-line troops can get what they need, when they need it, by offering a more efficient and effective processes across the supply chain.”
