XPO Logistics recently teamed with Highland Spring, a leading supplier of bottled water, last month to provide emergency water supplies to schools, homes and businesses across North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
 
Approximately 6,000 people were told not to cook, drink or wash with mains water in the region following concerns over its taste and smell.
 
Highland Spring was tasked with providing supplies of bottled water to people in the affected area, and contacted supply chain service provider XPO Logistics to coordinate the immediate distribution of 12 fully loaded trucks of still spring water from its Mossend storage and distribution site.

The operation began at XPO Logistics at 14:00 hrs. with the assembly of pallets of 1.5 and 2 litre bottles ready for delivery, with additional warehouse staff called in for support. To meet the urgent distribution requirement, the company also utilised third party spot hire vehicles, which were at the site within an hour and were loaded and despatched just 45 minutes after their arrival.

The operation continued until 21:40 hrs., when the focus turned to replenishing Highland Spring stock from its production facility so that regular customer distribution activities could resume the following day.

Gillian Hannah, Highland Spring Customer Logistics Manager, said: 'Thanks to all the staff at Mossend for their agile response in accommodating the emergency loading. The team at XPO Logistics reacted quickly, wholeheartedly and with no hesitation to manage the delivery of 12 full loads with zero notice. It was a great team effort.'

The issue with the mains water supply was swiftly resolved, although the site remained on standby over the next few days.