KFC chicken shortage

DHL Supply Chain has refuted union claims that it failed to notify Rugby council about the cold storage facility at the centre of the KFC contract debacle, which has made headlines around the world this week.

The GMB union has been gunning for DHL Supply Chain since the failure of its new contract with KFC to take wing forced KFC to close two thirds of its 900 stores this week.

The GMB issued a press release this week claiming that Rugby Borough Council had not granted the registration required by DHL to operate the site as a cold storage hub.

The union has been unhappy about the switch from Bidvest Logistics to DHL Supply Chain and claimed the registration issue was illustrative of a poorly run operation that had cost the fast food chain’s workers time and money.

However, in a statement sent to Motortransport.co.uk DHL said: “Under UK legislation there is no requirement for a cold storage facility to be licensed, but it does need to be registered.

“Reports that Rugby Borough Council were unaware that we were operating a cold storage facility are incorrect.

“On 20 October 2017, we advised the environmental health officer in writing that we had entered into a seven-year contract with KFC to provide a tri-temperature operation at Rugby Gateway.

“While there have been delays in completing the registration paperwork, the new facility meets all the necessary requirements and formal registration will be completed in the next few days,” it said.

DHL Supply chain has this week apologised for interruptions to its KFC operation and said it is "working diligently to rectify the situation", but also insisted it is not solely responsible for the problems.

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