ABSTRACT

[Draw your reader in

with an engaging
abstract. It is typically a
short summary of the
document. When
you’re ready to add
your content, just click
here and start typing.]

Ahmed Saleem32
[Course title]

[DOCUMENT TITLE]
[Document subtitle]
Contents
No table of contents entries found.
Introduction
This report focuses on the procurement of healthy and environmentally friendly fruit for Lidl
UK supermarket by its manager. The fruit selected for this purpose is Apple as it is a fruit
which has one of the highest nutrients required to maintain a healthy lifestyle and is also the
most environmentally friendly fruit amongst the three, we considered. The report explores
ways in which apples can be procured in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner
while keeping Lidl’s environmental goals and policies in mind. The logistics and supply
chain for this exercise are critically analysed, problems are identified, and solutions are
highlighted while providing alternatives as to how the process can be improved.
Firstly, the concept of environmentally friendly fruit was discussed, followed by the best
methods to reduce the negative environmental impacts of procuring the fruit. Keeping
emissions caused during production, storage, transportation and packaging in mind, a strategy
was developed. The strategy that was adopted was to select two suppliers who are in the UK
and one supplier outside of the UK which was in France to ensure that the supply chain is not
disrupted in case of a natural disaster. The reasons for selecting more suppliers in the UK
were to reduce the emissions caused during transportation, to promote the British fresh fruit
industry according to Lidl’s policy and to provide fresh fruits during the season. France was
selected because it is the closest country that is also a fresh fruit supplier to the UK, so in case
the supply within the UK is disrupted in any way we can procure it from them till the
problem is resolved.

Executive summary
We at Lidl have been consistently working to improve our customer satisfaction for the past
four decades. While we focus on our customers, we never forget about our company’s greater
impact on the environment. Hence, we have been constantly setting environmental and
sustainability goals to reduce our carbon footprint. A few important goals for our vision of
2030 are as follows:
1) Championing the British food and farming sector by directly investing in the British
economy, supporting the next generation of farmers, and protecting the British
countryside.
2) Enabling producers to grow with us, working together to ensure transparent,
sustainable supply chains, with a focus on local sourcing.
3) Applying proactive, preventative measures to protect those who work in our supply
chains, adapting to emerging challenges and creating a positive social impact.
4) Making healthy food accessible for families.
5) Promoting a low carbon economy, following a science-based trajectory for our
business and work with our suppliers to do the same.
6) Minimising food loss across the value chain from farm to fork.
7) Supporting a circular system which captures and retains the valuable resources in our
packaging, whilst eliminating unnecessary plastic.
Company background
LIDL came to the UK in 1994 and set up 10 stores. 28 years later they have 920 stores across
the UK and still growing, they have 13 regional distribution channels, with 27500 employees
who work tirelessly to keep this vast business running and delivering on their customers’
expectations. In just four decades they have established itself as one of the leading retail
stores in the UK. At Lidl they have a very customer-centric approach to their business, they
have established themselves as a discounter retail store and their slogan is ‘Big on quality,
Lidl on price’. To ensure customer satisfaction they work closely and maintain a very open
communication channel with their suppliers and producers to ensure they are consistently
delivering high quality and market competitive prices. They are consistently working to
optimize their operational processes to curtail waste and strive for innovation every single
day, their goals for 2025 and 2030 are to be more environmentally friendly and reduce their
carbon footprint. They are constantly expanding and will open their 1000th store in the UK by
2023.
The backbone of Lidl’s vast supply chain network is its regional distribution centres. They
are responsible for receiving inventory, managing suppliers, and ensuring quality and price
controls. Every product that ends up on Lidl’s shelves goes through the regional distribution
channels. Suppliers have two options either they can deliver directly to the 13 regional
distribution channels, or they can use Lidl’s logistic partners who will collect the goods from
their warehouse and deliver it to one of Lidl’s 13 regional distribution warehouses from
where they will be sent to the supermarkets.
Lidl has a vast and complex supply chain, products are procured locally as well as
internationally through different countries, and its regional distribution centres are
strategically positioned all around the UK to consistently fulfil the demands of its 920 stores.
Lidl’s encourages a proactive approach for itself and its suppliers and promotes effective
communication. All deliveries, delays and problems are to be reported to the buying team,
which is the main point of contact for Lidl’s suppliers. Suppliers are to deliver their products
in ready to shelf packaging to optimize the operations and they are also to keep their case
sizes consistent to maximise the shelf space at the supermarket. Sustainability is also a major
criterion when it comes to taking a supplier on board and for that reason Lidl works very
closely with its suppliers to communicate its intent

Statistics and trends in the fruit market

Top 3 most consumed fruits
1. Banana
2. Tomatoes
3. Apples
These are the most consumed fruits in the UK. Bananas and tomatoes are both fruits which
do not grow well in the UK hence, they are imported from other countries. This means that
they are not fresh when they reach the UK, they lose their nutritional value and since they
need to be transported a long distance their emissions are very high. Due to this Apple was
selected as the fruit that the supermarket manager decided to procure. Apples are a seasonal
fruit in the UK which are produced mainly during the Autumn and the winters, the supply of
apples in season is enough to last the whole year. This means they can be stored and supplied
throughout the year from within the UK which would significantly reduce the emissions,
reduce the cost to procure them and most importantly the producers in the UK are working
towards sustainability in their production processes which further helps to reduce the
emissions. All these factors fit very well with Lidl’s policy of environmentally friendly fruit
and its commitment to providing quality products at a low price.
Apple is a low-calorie snack with a high content of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
According to nutritionists, one big apple has around 130 calories, of which none are from fat.
Apples also have no salt or cholesterol, which are substances that many people desire to
avoid. One apple has 34 grammes of carbs, 25 of which originate from natural sugars in the
fruit.
What is environmentally friendly fruit?
Environment-friendly fruit essentially means that the production, transportation, storage, and
packaging are done in a way that causes little to no harm to the environment. There are 2
major issues related to fruits consumption which harm the environment:
1) When fruit is produced out of its season in a greenhouse it requires more energy
which leads to more greenhouse gases.
2) Import and export of fruit also causes environmental problems as refrigerating and
transporting them releases greenhouse gases.
3) Packaging fruits also leads to a lot of waste as usually; they are packaged in plastic
bags.
4) They have a fair chance of getting damaged or bruised during transportation due to
which they become unfit to sell and are wasted.
Talking about Apple specifically the strategy that can be used and is the most effective is to
procure Apples from within the UK during the season (Autumn and Winter), this would
reduce the travel time to arrive at the supermarket, deliver fresh fruit, and reduce greenhouse
emissions. During the offseason, the Apples should be imported from other countries rather
than producing them in greenhouses. This is because fruit produced in season and then
transported shows lower emissions than if it were to be produced in a greenhouse. The
strategy that was adopted to procure the apples was to utilize the apples produced in the UK
during Autumn and Winter. Apples produced locally will be delivered to the closest Lidl
warehouses in ready to shelf packaging and then transported to all the supermarkets. During
the off-season in the UK, apples will be imported from Italy and Austria because apple is in
season at that time in both countries.

Analysis of supply chain challenges

Managing an effective supply chain requires a proactive approach to problems rather than a
reactive one. There is a lot that can go wrong in a supply chain, it can be an internal error or
something external which is beyond our control e.g., extreme weather, pandemic, war etc. In
the case of procuring Apples there are several problems that can arise.
Starting from the production stage, the harvest can fall prey to natural disaster, delay in the
harvest, breakdown of the processing unit which can delay the delivery, fruit mishandled
during transportation which can cause it to bruise and unfit to put on the supermarket shelf,
miscommunication between buyer and supplier, unable to transport the harvest to regional
distribution channels due to any issue, the delay will reduce the shelf life of the apples and
disrupt the supply of the

List and analysis of alternative procurement options

the production and distribution of food also use energy that produces greenhouse gases such as CO2
and overall, global food production and its supply chain are responsible for about a quarter of the
world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

About 65% of apples bought by UK consumers are imported, with most coming from France
(26%) and South Africa (21%). South African apples will have travelled 6,000 miles, taking
two weeks, in refrigerated ‘reefer’ containers.

Procurement file
The Manager of the supermarket would firstly need to review data of which type of apples
are sold the most in his store, how much of it is locally produced and how much is imported
to assess their environmental impact. The quantity needed for one Lidl store would be
approximately 43659 Kgs per year. This quantity will mostly be procured from within the
UK to keep the price low and the fruit environmentally friendly.

There are three types of Apples which are popular in the UK which are Bramley apples, Cox
apples and the Gala or gala royal apples. Each of these is good if consumed in a certain way
for e.g., Bramley apples are good for cooking whereas, Gala is mostly consumed raw, Cox is
good for both eating raw and cooking. Each of these is grown in the UK.

Product specification:

Product criteria British Apple Adrian Ac Gotham Weighting

Co % and son criteria
Scripps LTD
%
Produced locally Yes Yes Yes
Organic production Yes Yes Yes
Good quality Yes Yes Yes
Consistent supply No Yes Yes
throughout the year
Positive environmental Yes Yes Yes
impact
Ready to shelf packaging No YES Yes
 Grows all 3 types 2 2 Yes
Processing and storage No Yes Yes
unit

Failure Model Effect Analysis

Failure Failure Failure cause Severit Occu Dete What to do to What to do
mode effect y rrenc ctabil prevent if it happens
e ity

Under Delays in Bad harvest 8 3 7 Ensure a good Procure

productio getting the due to (Supp line of necessary
n product to extreme lier communication supplies
the weather and with the supplier from the
supermark conditions buyin to make sure he backup
et g has enough supplier in
mana supply and warn France
ger) early if the supply
is running out

Stock will Lack of 9 2 5 Proper research Input from

Wrong go to waste research for and experiment suppliers as
selection after its customer with different to which are
criteria shelf life needs types of apples to apples, he is
expires. assess customer selling the
preference most, order
that type
for the next
supply

Damaged Can’t be The product 8 6 4 Ensure the Immediately

fruit sold, was not product is quality report to
received Delays in checked for checked when buying
delivery, quality when the product is manager
efficiency is the delivery delivered and who will
undermine was made while the driver is contact the
d still on site supplier and
the delivery
will be
returned
Too much Wastage of Miscommuni 9 3 8 If the product Redirect the
quantity product, cation or quantity is excess
ordered Will reduce accidentally increased supply to
the ordering significantly other Lidl
working twice ensure there is stores
capacity of approval required which are
RDCs from the buying yet to order
team before the
order can be
placed

Road Delivery Reckless 9 2 9 Ensure drivers Ensure the

accidents delayed, driving, very with a good track delivery
during loss of long driving record are hired, staff are
transport product, hours, lack of ensure they don’t taken care
ation financial rest work very long of,
loss shifts Order an
urgent
supply