Last month's severe distribution problems which caused closure of several hundreds of its restaurants in the UK, have prompted Yum Brands-owned Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to sign a new agreement with its former delivery company Bidvest to supply up to 350 of its 900 restaurants.
DHL served KFC huge inedible chicken
KFC overhauled its UK chicken distribution chain in November by replacing Bidvest Logistics with DHL, a unit of Germany’s Deutsche Post AG and previous partner Quick Service Logistics (QSL),
which has supplied the fried-chicken chain in Europe since 2011.
At the time, DHL announced that it was committed to setting an “industry benchmark” in service. However, days after the contract switched to DHL many of the food giant's outlets began running out
of chicken products and it was forced to close more than 560 of its 900 UK restaurants because “operational issues at DHL."
Back to joyful consumption
KFC’s supply chain snapped after the DHL-QSL partnership shifted from five regional distribution sites run by Bidvest to just one in Rugby, England. At the height of the crisis, analysts at
Stifel estimated that the restaurant shutdowns were costing KFC more than US$2 million a day in lost sales.
Announcing the decision to reappoint Bidvest Logistics, a KFC spokesman said: "Our focus remains on ensuring our customers can enjoy our chicken without further disruption. With that in mind, the
decision has been taken in conjunction with QSL and DHL to revert the distribution contract for up to 350 of our restaurants in the north of the UK back to Bidvest Logistics."
More than 97% of the UK restaurants are open again, KFC said, though some are still operating with limited menus.
Nol van Fenema
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