June 19, 2008 – Some of the U.K.’s biggest food and drink companies, including Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Coors, have agreed to share space in shipping trucks in an effort to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of product transport, Food Production Daily reports.

The new Sustainable Distribution initiative, spearheaded by food industry think-tank IGD, has so far attracted 37 corporate partners. The program will remove about 800 delivery trucks from British roads and save 23 million liters of diesel fuel this year, IGD estimates.

"In a highly competitive industry, getting 37 companies working together in this way is very innovative and results so far are impressive," says IGD president and CEO of Nestle U.K. Alastair Sykes.

The truck-sharing scheme was piloted last year by Nestle and United Biscuits, which have boosted efficiency in their distribution networks by enlisting United Biscuits trucks to pick up a load of Nestle products each day, reducing the number of empty truck runs. The concept of supply chain collaboration – even among companies within the same industry – appears to be gaining some acceptance. A recent report from the Global Commerce Initiative recommends a new supply chain model in which companies work together to improve environmental and social performance while cutting costs and ensuring an uninterrupted supply line.

For SLM sourcing expert Phil Berry’s take on supply chain collaboration, click here.