CENTRAL CO-OP
Central Co-op is the secondlargest co-operative society in the UK
Central Co-op employs around
7,700
people across divisions including retail and funeral services
Central Co-op ’ s history can be traced back to the modern co-operative movement of the mid-19th century
“ It ’ s a significant investment ,” Lockwood explains . “ For us , we had an ageing fleet and we had reached a crossroads , so you could say it ’ s been a case of right place , right time .”
In looking to go green , Lockwood ’ s team went through an exhaustive procurement tender exercise , before finally identifying the Ford Mustang Mach-E as its limousine and hearse solution . The new fleet is due to be rolled out over the next 12 months .
Investment has also been made in charging infrastructure courtesy of a new partnership , and will evolve as the fleet expands : “ For us as an organisation this is massively important , and there ’ s also an expectation from the public . This investment has been really popular with our colleagues as well .
“ We are a traditional business , but we have to evolve . When we ’ re talking about helping the environment , we need to look at every aspect of what we do .
“ I think what we ’ re doing is quite cutting edge for the industry and it ’ s an exciting time for us as a business . There are bigger providers and bigger competitors out there who are maybe not as far down the road as we are in this space .”
‘ Amazing ’ partners across Co-op ’ s business Clearly , a vast operation like Central Co-op cannot function without crucial input from partner organisations .
“ We ’ ve been fortunate to have some amazing partners ,” says Lockwood . “ One of the things we talk about with regards to partnerships is trying not to just have a transactional relationship . We want to put in effort across the business – not just in procurement – to drive value and sustainability .”
One such example of a fruitful partnership is with Lyreco , which has spent time trying to
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