DHL Supply Chain has won a ten-year contract with Gatwick Airport to manage inbound deliveries through its new logistics and consolidation facility.

The contract, worth more than £24m, involves managing inbound goods from multiple suppliers and delivering them to the airport’s 150 partners and retailers.

A phased approach to start-up will see DHL begin operations at the site, located in the Gatwick Air Cargo Centre, on 4 November with full operation by the end of that month.

DHL said the move would result in 44 full-time-equivalent positions, with additional agency and DHL support being called in during start-up operations and subsequent peaks.

It added that the consolidation centre would result in a “significant” reduction in final mile deliveries. Consolidation platforms operated by the company before have yielded up to 80% reductions in onward deliveries, said a spokeswoman for DHL.

It also predicted an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 112,000kg would result.