Bakery equipment supplier launches new campaign aimed at cash and carry wholesale community to highlight the impact of unauthorised equipment misuse
Bakers Basco, the membership scheme set up by Allied Bakeries, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons, Hovis and Warburtons to provide and manage an industry-wide bakery equipment solution, has launched a poster campaign across the UK to raise awareness within the cash and carry/wholesale community of the impact of misplaced equipment – not just for business, but for the environment too.
Bakers Basco, with support from some of the largest bakeries in the UK, have issued a plea to those working in the cash and carry wholesale industry to be vigilant of plastic bread basket trays and dollies, designed solely to carry bread for bakers to deliver their goods to supermarkets and wholesale locations across the UK.
As part of this campaign, Bakers Basco’s team will be liaising with key contacts at cash and carry sites across the UK to spread awareness. In addition to the poster campaign, a monthly email bulletin stressing the importance of returning equipment safely will be distributed and regular planned visits to locations to uncover more insights into where equipment is ending up, working closely with management.
Too often, Bakers Basco equipment ends up being misplaced and used for storage and display purposes, unintentionally or otherwise. In doing so, the equipment is being diverted out of the bakery logistics supply chain, resulting in the need to manufacture more baskets to plug the shortfall, introducing even more plastic into the system.
While Bakers Basco’s Omega baskets are made from 30% recycled material and are ‘returnable transit packaging’ designed to be used over and over again with a working lifespan of over eight years, the impact of equipment leaving the supply chain calls for unnecessary increased production to ensure daily bread deliveries. What’s more, it can also often end up mistakenly in landfill.
Bread basket theft (or conversion) is the Achilles’ heel of the baking industry; an issue that has plagued bakers for many years. Typical losses can be in excess of 60% and, in extreme cases, up to 100%. With a pool of five million bread baskets and associated wheeled dollies, Bakers Basco’s team of operations and investigation experts work tirelessly to crack down on potential abuse and misuse.
“Since 2006, it’s been our mission to improve the attrition rate of bakery equipment – which holds significant value from an environmental and monetary point of view,” said Paul Empson, General Manager, Bakers Basco. “While many of the usual suspects are convenience stores, market traders and other bakeries who don’t pay to license the equipment, we’re increasingly finding our equipment going missing cash and carry wholesale sites. While we utilise GPS tech and have a team dedicated to identifying and reclaiming equipment which has been delayed, lost or stolen, often it can simply be down to a lack of awareness – which is why we’ve made it our mission this year to reach out to individual sectors to highlight the issue.”
For anyone who comes across these baskets, please contact the Bakers Basco team, who are willing to arrange collections for free. You can report via the recovery helpline: 08000 327323 or email: enquiries@bakersbasco.co.uk.
To learn more about the potentially serious consequences of abuse, visit the Bakers Basco website here: https://bakersbasco.com/investigations.
Comments are closed.