Travis Perkins has signed a five-year contract with CHEP, a provider of pallet and container pooling solutions, which will significantly modernise the supply chain of the construction industry in the UK.

This agreement with Travis Perkins represents CHEP’s first foray into the construction business. As such, it marks a significant strategic step forward for the sector as it seeks to take advantage of the superior build quality of pooled pallets, which are said to be produced to a much higher standard than single-use white pallets.

Brian Huckle, supply chain development director for the plumbing and heating division of Travis Perkins, said: “We are delighted to be working with CHEP. This relationship is a great match in terms of improving the efficiency and sustainability of our supply chain. The use of reusable pallets will also help us to reduce our carbon footprint.

“Both Travis Perkins and CHEP are committed to finding new ways to work more efficiently, which will ultimately help to modernise the supply chain to a long-established industry.”

The new contract is underpinned by a comprehensive joint business plan that will see CHEP provide full pallet category management services across the whole of Travis Perkins. This service provision incorporates the management of all loose pallets equipment throughout Travis Perkins’s supply chain, including CHEP standard pallets, as well as a tailored service to manage white pallets and bespoke pallets.

In addition, CHEP will provide an on-site category manager at Travis Perkins’s primary distribution hubs at Brackmills in Northampton and Omega North in Warrington, to manage the partnership and support both the change management process as well as the implementation of asset controls protocols.

CHEP vice-president and country general manager for UK and Ireland, Rod Francis, said: “Until now, the construction sector has predominantly been served by high cost, single-use white pallets, which ultimately end up in landfill as wood waste. The introduction of CHEP pallets and our supply chain expertise is a real step forward for the sector as a whole.”