Crates of beer are loaded onto a DHL truck at EABL’s yard in Ruaraka. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The contract variation has seen DHL Supply Chain initiate talks with rival Bollore to absorb some of its staff even as it redeployed other employees to different departments.
DHL is overseeing (from July 1 to August 31) the warehousing transition after which it will become clear who among its staff will be hired by Bollore. EABL said its relationship with Bollore was long-standing and had only widened in scope.
Logistics firm DHL’s subsidiary has issued termination notices to dozens of its employees after a part of a multi-billion shilling five year contract it had with the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) came to a close on June 30.
DHL Supply Chain has issued dozens of its 300 employees stationed at EABL’s Ruaraka headquarters with redundancy letters after the brewer gave the warehousing job to Bollore Transport and Logistics Kenya, a subsidiary of French multinational Bollore.
“The regional contract between DHL Supply Chain and Diageo ended on June 30. Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) has decided to appoint a new service provider for their warehousing operations in Kenya,” a DHL spokesperson said in a statement.
EABL, which is 50.02 per cent owned by UK-based brewer Diageo has, however, retained DHL as one its transporters in a change of guard that brings to a close a lucrative contract the German logistics firm has held since 2011.
Bollore, which is one of EABL’s long-standing haulers, has now taken up the extended role of warehousing at the 20,000 square metre facility that the brewer commissioned two years ago.
The contract variation has seen DHL Supply Chain initiate talks with rival Bollore to absorb some of its staff even as it redeployed other employees to different departments.
“DHL Supply Chain has reached out to the new service provider to offer jobs to our staff as part of the transition. We continue to provide logistics services to many other blue chip clients, including KBL, within the region,” said DHL.
Bollore
Bollore (formerly SDV Transami) will handle products when they leave the production line, oversee storage at the warehouse and load them onto transporters’ trucks for delivery to distributors.
The transporters include DHL, Metro Logistics, Bollore and several others that serve the brewer’s clients locally and in the region.
Bollore, which also offers services such as courier, freight forwarding and customs clearance, has a total workforce of 1,200 and a fleet of over 100 multi-user vehicles, according to its website.
DHL is overseeing (from July 1 to August 31) the warehousing transition after which it will become clear who among its staff will be hired by Bollore. EABL said its relationship with Bollore was long-standing and had only widened in scope.
“The current scope of their contract includes warehousing and other services,” EABL said adding that DHL remains a logistics service provider of KBL. DHL was appointed EABL’s warehousing firm in 2011 to oversee logistics at its Ruaraka base as well as on leased premises at the former Castle Brewery in Thika in a deal that was estimated to have been worth Sh2.28 billion.
It took over the job from Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm Express Kenya, which was dropped as one of the brewer’s warehouse providers. Express Kenya leased out its fleet and other equipment to SDV Transami (now Bollore). DHL has until now continued to serve a majority of EABL’s distribution routes in Kenya.
DHL’s contract, which also included handling EABL’s international and domestic courier requirements, was still in place when the brewer opened a new facility Ruaraka early 2014.
EABL early last year advertised for a multi-billion-shilling transport and logistics contract in a move that was to raise competition for some of its current haulers.
