Jerome Wildsmith joins Peel Ports as BCO sales manager

The former head of supply chain for UK retailer B&M, Jerome Wildsmith (above), has joined Peel Ports Group as BCO [beneficial cargo owner] sales manager.

Mr Wildsmith has more than 30 years’ logistics experience with cargo owners, including time with leading retailers Matalan, Mamas & Papas and Regatta, and is well known to the management team at Peel Ports as he previously engineered a deal to funnel some 80% of the retailer’s imports through Liverpool.

Based within the port of Liverpool’s container division, his new role will be to drive container volumes and leverage the port’s proximity to major distribution centres north of Birmingham.

“Jerome’s huge success at improving supply chain efficiency from the retail side is expertise that we can now offer our customers and will go a long way towards streamlining supply chain processes,” said Peel Ports chief operating officer David Huck.

“In the current climate, cargo owners are seeing their margins being squeezed ever tighter while being expected to simultaneously deliver greener logistics solutions. We will work with them to achieve these goals by maximising on the benefits of more effective use of sea transport, for closer to end destination logistics.” he added.

83% of respondents in a recent Peel Ports survey of over 2,000 retailers felt it would be beneficial to liaise with ports directly to implement necessary transformational market change, while 76% stated they would opt to import goods closer to end destinations if they were given a choice on their port of entry by shipping lines, while 68% felt a better choice of ports would improve supply chain efficiencies.

“Currently, 90% of deepsea containerised cargo comes into the southern UK ports of Felixstowe, London and Southampton, yet 60% of these goods are destined for the north. More effective sea transport and shipping routes will offer endless opportunities for vast improvements for cargo owners, including a reduction of cost, carbon and congestion, with clear benefits for them but also for UK plc,” Mr Huck added.