Bakers Basco and Allied Bakeries appeared live on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning, using two live broadcasts between 6am and 8am to highlight the growing issue of bakery delivery equipment theft, misuse and illegal recycling and the impact it can have on the UK’s bakery supply chain.
Broadcast live from Allied’s Stockport bakery, the segment was presented by Amelia Beckett, Correspondent at Good Morning Britain, who interviewed Stacey Brown, National Investigations Manager at Bakers Basco and Tim Bright, General Manager for Stockport, Stoke and Liverpool at Allied Bakeries.
The interviews brought national attention to an issue that costs the bakery industry an estimated £2.5 million every year, with around 500,000 bakery baskets lost annually through theft, misuse, damage and failure to return equipment to the supply chain.
During the broadcasts, Brown explained how Bakers Basco investigates the theft and misuse of bread baskets and dollies on behalf of its members and regularly recovers equipment from unauthorised locations including markets, city centres, outdoor events and illegal recyclers.
Speaking during the programme, Brown highlighted that what may appear to be a simple bread basket is, in fact, a vital supply chain asset. “Most people see a bread basket as a plastic tray, but these are valuable reusable assets that help deliver fresh bread to shops every day. When equipment goes missing, it creates disruption, increases costs and impacts the efficiency of the bakery supply chain.” Brown stated
Bright outlined the operational importance of the equipment to one of the UK’s leading bakery manufacturers. “These baskets and dollies are essential to getting fresh bread from our bakeries to retailers across the country. Every item has a purpose and needs to be returned to the supply chain so it can be reused time and time again. They are a critical part of an efficient and sustainable operation.”
The feature highlighted how bakery baskets and dollies form part of a closed-loop supply chain that enables millions of loaves and baked goods to reach supermarket shelves every week. When equipment is lost or stolen, replacement costs place additional pressure on manufacturers and distributors and create unnecessary inefficiencies throughout the supply chain.
Bakers Basco works on behalf of its members – Allied Bakeries, Hovis, Warburtons, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons – to recover equipment, investigate misuse and educate businesses about the importance of returning assets to their rightful owners.
Brown added: “What many people don’t realise is that bakery equipment theft is not always opportunistic. We regularly uncover organised criminal activity involving the theft, stockpiling, illegal sale and unauthorised recycling of bakery assets. These baskets and dollies have value, and criminals are exploiting that value for profit. Our job is to investigate those activities, recover the equipment and disrupt the criminal networks behind them.”
The Good Morning Britain appearance forms part of Bakers Basco’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness of bakery equipment crime and encourage businesses and members of the public to report information relating to stolen or improperly used assets.