Logistics & distribution

Your outsourced decision intelligence partner. Protect margin, cut waste, and act before problems cost you.

Summit works with UK road haulage, distribution, warehousing, 3PL and cold chain operators who run on thin margins and fragmented spreadsheets. We embed fixed-scope decision support that helps leadership see true cost-to-serve, staff and fleet ahead of demand, stay compliance-ready and stop debating numbers so you can protect margin, reduce cost and move faster on the decisions that matter.

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Segments we serve

Each operating model faces different margin and capacity decisions. We tailor programmes accordingly.

Road Haulage

Protect lane and contract profitability; control fuel cost per mile, fleet utilisation, and unplanned downtime.

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Distribution Companies

Reduce cost per stop; improve drop density, first-time delivery rates, and customer-level margin visibility.

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Warehousing

Lift throughput without adding headcount; cut labour cost per order, dwell time, and SLA penalty risk.

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Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

Meet client SLAs before they escalate; defend renewals with evidence-backed performance and margin discipline.

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Cold Chain Logistics

Stay audit-ready on temperature compliance; reduce spoilage risk and speed up retailer evidence requests.

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Decisions hidden in the day-to-day

Most operators already hold the information. The gap is whether leadership can act on it in time.

Delivery Data

TMS exports, POD records, route sheets, Excel trackers

Vehicle Data

Telematics, MOT/service logs, mileage, capacity utilisation

Customer Data

CRM, contract rates, SLA terms, volume commitments

Fuel Costs

Fuel cards, depot receipts, £/mile by vehicle class

Warehouse Data

WMS exports, inventory snapshots, pick/pack logs

Staffing

Rosters, agency hours, overtime, cost per unit handled

Thin margins mean every percentage point counts. Spreadsheet reporting hides true cost-to-serve by customer, route, and depot, so leadership debates numbers instead of acting, unprofitable contracts run another month, and peak weeks trigger overtime and agency spend you could have planned for.

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Margin Decision Diagnostic

Low-risk entry. Credited in full toward any follow-on programme.

Decision Clarity

Margin Decision Diagnostic

Half-day workshop to pinpoint where margin leaks, and which decisions to fix first.

1 day (workshop + summary report)

£950

Leadership knows delivery, fleet, warehouse and finance each hold pieces of the margin picture, but no one agrees which spreadsheet is right, and capital gets spent before the real problems are clear.

Decisions made easier

Clear picture of what you know vs what leadership needs to decide
Agreed priority decisions and KPIs before any system or process work
Diagnostic fee credited in full toward a follow-on engagement

Discuss this programme

Core programmes

Fixed scope, fixed timeline. Each programme answers a specific leadership decision.

Decision Clarity

Operations Clarity Pack

Define what your business needs to decide, before you buy another system or spreadsheet.

From £2,950

Delivery, fleet, warehouse, and finance teams each maintain their own Excel models. Nobody agrees which version of margin is correct, and every TMS or WMS conversation starts from scratch.

What you receive

Stakeholder workshops with ops, transport, warehouse, and finance
Current-state process maps for reporting and decision workflows
Spreadsheet inventory, what exists, who owns it, what breaks
Future-state data model and integration requirements (TMS, WMS, telematics, fuel cards)
Prioritised requirements backlog with business case per initiative
Vendor-agnostic RFP-ready requirements specification

Commercial impact

Reduces duplicate reporting effort and lowers the risk of buying systems that cannot answer your margin questions.

Ideal for

Operators planning a TMS, WMS, or reporting investment who need requirements grounded in the decisions the business actually makes.

Decisions made easier

• Single agreed view of data sources and decision gaps
• Requirements ready for vendor demos or internal build
• Lower project risk before capital spend
• Stakeholder alignment on what leadership needs to see weekly

Discuss Operations Clarity Pack

Operational Visibility

Profitable Operations Control Centre

See true margin by customer, route, depot, and vehicle class, while the month is still open.

From £4,950

Finance knows revenue. Operations knows volumes. Nobody can answer 'which customers and routes actually make money?' until month-end, and by then the loss-making contract has run another four weeks.

What you receive

Integrated data model joining delivery, fuel, labour, and contract data
Executive reporting layer: margin %, cost per drop/mile, revenue per vehicle-day
Drill-through by customer, route, depot, and time period
Fuel cost per mile and labour cost per unit benchmarks
KPI framework with owners and target thresholds
2× stakeholder review sessions and handover documentation

Commercial impact

Gives leadership the evidence to renegotiate, reprice, or exit unprofitable contracts before they erode another quarter.

Ideal for

MDs and finance directors who need board-ready margin visibility without waiting for month-end close.

Decisions made easier

• One leadership view replacing fragmented spreadsheet packs
• Customer and route profitability visible weekly, not monthly
• Evidence base for contract renegotiation or exit decisions
• Foundation for ongoing self-serve operational reporting

Discuss Profitable Operations Control Centre

Forward Planning

Volume & Staffing Forecast Programme

Forecast delivery volumes by depot, route, and customer, so you staff and fleet ahead of demand.

From £5,500

Peak weeks surprise you every time. Overtime spikes, agency cover, and missed SLAs, because volume forecasts are last year's spreadsheet plus gut feel.

What you receive

Historical volume analysis by depot, route, day-of-week, and season
Hold-out validated forecasting model with planning ranges (P10/P50/P90)
4-week rolling forecast refreshed from your data
Scenario inputs for promotions, new contracts, and weather/events
Integration guide for rota and fleet planning workflows
Optional: Summit Forecast platform subscription for self-serve updates

Commercial impact

Supports better rota and fleet decisions ahead of peak, reducing reliance on last-minute agency cover and overtime.

Ideal for

Distribution and 3PL operators with seasonal or promotional volume swings affecting staffing and fleet.

Decisions made easier

• Validated forecasts leadership can trust for rota and fleet decisions
• Reduced last-minute agency and overtime costs
• Fewer SLA breaches from under-resourced peak days
• Planning ranges, not false-precision single numbers

Discuss Volume & Staffing Forecast Programme

Systems & Scale

90-Day Spreadsheet Exit Programme

90-day plan to move off Excel chaos, without stopping operations or buying the wrong platform.

From £3,500

Everyone knows spreadsheets aren't sustainable. But every transformation attempt stalls because nobody mapped which spreadsheet does what, or how to migrate without breaking operations.

What you receive

Spreadsheet and shadow-system audit across ops, finance, and warehouse
Target data architecture: source systems, integration points, reporting layer
Phased 90-day roadmap with quick wins in weeks 1–4
Technology shortlist (build vs buy) with evaluation criteria
Change impact assessment and training plan
Business case with cost of inaction vs investment

Commercial impact

Quantifies the hidden cost of manual reconciliation and shadow systems, building the case to invest in integrated operations.

Ideal for

Growing logistics operators who have outgrown Excel but aren't ready for a full ERP programme.

Decisions made easier

• Clear, phased path off spreadsheets
• Quick wins deliverable in the first month
• Board-ready business case for technology investment
• Reduced risk of buying the wrong platform

Discuss 90-Day Spreadsheet Exit Programme

Performance Improvement

Last-Mile Profit Improvement Sprint

Fix margin leaks at the stop level, drop density, failed deliveries, and cost per stop.

From £3,950

Revenue per van looks fine until you count failed deliveries, re-routes, waiting time, and fuel on empty miles. Margin leaks at the stop level, invisible in monthly P&L.

What you receive

Value stream map of order-to-delivery workflow
Baseline metrics: cost per stop, drop density, first-time delivery rate, idle time
Root-cause analysis on top 3 margin leaks
Quick-win implementation plan (2–4 week sprints)
Revised standard operating procedures for dispatch and drivers
Before/after measurement framework

Commercial impact

Targets the delivery cost line items that spreadsheet P&Ls hide, failed deliveries, empty miles, and poor drop density.

Ideal for

Distribution and last-mile operators where delivery cost is the largest variable cost line.

Decisions made easier

• Quantified cost per stop with clear improvement targets
• Failed delivery rate reduced with root causes addressed
• Dispatch and driver SOPs updated and embedded
• Measurement framework to sustain gains

Discuss Last-Mile Profit Improvement Sprint

Growth & Compliance

Major Contract Win Programme

Build a compelling, evidence-backed bid for high-value logistics contracts, with margin-protecting pricing.

From £4,950

A major retailer or manufacturer RFP lands. The ops team knows you can deliver, but the bid reads like every other haulier because nobody had time to build a compelling, evidence-based story.