DE & S
Defence
Equipment & Support : Equipping and supporting our armed forces
"
I ’ ve always felt that even on a bad day , I can still make a difference , and that ’ s a good thing to be feeling
"
ROGER WEST LOGISTICS AND SUPPORT DIRECTOR , DEFENCE , EQUIPMENT & SUPPORT
The scale of the operation is evident , yet hard to fully comprehend , on our visit to MOD Donnington , near Telford in the UK – a former base with a rich history dating back to 1936 . During the Second World War , it was recognised as a potential ‘ safe ’ site for storing ordnance and other equipment rather than Woolwich in London .
The site grew over the decades and remains the main logistics hub ( alongside Bicester ) for the MOD , bolstered by a landmark contract award in 2015 that saw the development of its £ 90m state-of-theart Defence Fulfilment Centre ( DFC ). The impressive DFC was constructed by McLaren Construction under contract by Kuehne + Nagel , and covers an area of around 10 football pitches . Importantly for West , it brings the DE & S operations bang up to date with industry best practice .
Partnerships are key to DE & S supply chain success The MOD signed a 13-year logistics contract with Leidos in 2015 which , in addition to building the DFC , sees them both run and improve procurement of commodities , stock control , storage and distribution .
98 November 2022