Wincanton, the largest British logistics company, has partnered with one of the leading global providers of software for idea and innovation management, HYPE Innovation, in order to take full advantage of the innovative thinking taking place within the organisation.
The partnership, called Ideas Accelerator, is focused on capturing and sharing ideas from within Wincanton’s extensive workforce that can be applied for the benefit of the business, and Wincanton’s customers. The initiative forms part of Wincanton’s W² programme, designed to drive greater innovation from both employees and customers. It is being run in tandem with the W² Labs initiative, which is aimed at making the most of the exciting opportunities offered by start-ups in the area of digital innovation. Following a trial with 500 employees at its sites in Kettering and Chippenham, phase one of the Ideas Accelerator project was rolled out to 3,700 employees in June. Subsequent phases will see this extended across Wincanton, eventually encompassing all 17,500 employees across more than 200 sites.
Marcos Hart, Wincanton’s Business Optimisation and Transformation Director, said: “W² Ideas Accelerator is a key component of Wincanton’s W² programme as it allows us to tap into ideas, from the people who know our business best.
“The results of the trials to date have been overwhelmingly positive, suggesting that there is huge potential to apply innovative techniques across our business, and give our employees a larger voice in how we shape the future of our business. We are excited to see what additional benefits Ideas Accelerator can bring as we continue its’ rollout across the company.”
Already the project has started to deliver significant improvements in collaboration with customers. The collaborative pilot with one of Wincanton’s significant customers, Wavin, has resulted in ideas to improve multi-drop load planning and how drivers interact with customers at the point of delivery, both of which are currently being implemented.
Marcos Hart added: “Our customers now have an even more engaged group of people working on their contract, and the ability to collaborate with Wincanton more closely than ever before on shared innovation objectives to the benefit of both parties.”
The ultimate aim of the W² programme is to help Wincanton become the most innovative, effective and respected logistics company.
ENDS
For further information:
Find out more at www.wincanton.co.uk
