Travis Perkins plc, the UK’s largest distributor of building materials and a leading partner to the construction industry, today announced that it has received the 2023 Google Cloud Customer of the Year Award, Cross Industry for using a data-driven approach to improve fleet efficiency and reduce carbon emissions for deliveries to customers.
This award recognises customer innovation, for successfully delivering a project that has enabled colleagues across the Group to access trusted carbon and efficiency insights.
As a result, Branch Managers now get personalised reports with data which show opportunities for delivery efficiency and emissions savings. This data enables them to optimise deliveries by transferring deliveries to branches that are closer to customer sites.
The built environment contributes around 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions. The construction industry therefore has a key role to play in achieving net zero. As part of a commitment to lead on this agenda, Travis Perkins plc has set ambitious Science Based Targets initiative (‘SBTi’) accredited decarbonisation targets, to reduce the carbon footprint of its delivered goods to customers by cutting carbon emissions in its supply chain.
“By unifying the Group’s fragmented data into a consistent, meta-data-driven data warehouse and making it available, we have given leaders in the business data they can trust for better decision making. Within months, this project led to a 4% improvement in fleet delivery efficiency through the reduction in fuel costs and carbon emissions,” explained Data & Insights Director for Travis Perkins plc, Robert Barbour.
“This project has clearly shown how data and reporting helps us to promote a better culture for decarbonisation within our own business and in the industry more widely, and we’re really excited that Google has recognised this with this award. I am very proud of my team and wider business teams for what they have achieved,” he continued.
“The Google Cloud Customer Awards are an opportunity to recognise the most innovative, technically advanced, and transformative cloud deployments across industries, from around the globe, built on our platform,” said Brian Hall, VP of Product and Industry Marketing at Google Cloud. “I want to congratulate Travis Perkins plc on achieving this award and serving as an innovator for the industry.”
"I am delighted that this project to decarbonise the supply chain has been recognised in the Google Cloud Customer Awards. The Group's data team is constantly innovating with data, finding new insights to help their businesses, and I want to congratulate them on all the hard work in transforming their business with the help of Google Cloud, Big Query and the Looker platform. Particular congratulations to Rob and the data team for also using the Group's leadership position to influence the wider Industry so the construction sector becomes more insights-led. We at Google Cloud are really proud to be supporting Travis Perkins plc on their continued innovation journey. Here's to the next award," said Scott Yarnell, Account Director for Travis Perkins, Google Cloud.
As Travis Perkins plc continues to use data to modernise and educate more colleagues and functions about data reporting tools, the Group will soon be welcoming another cohort of data apprentices. Having launched the industry’s first data apprenticeship scheme in 2021, 100 colleagues have now enrolled on data apprenticeships, nearly 40% of whom are women to help develop a more diverse workforce for the future.
ENDS
Contact:
Travis Perkins plc
Tel: 01604 592307
Photographs are available here.
About Travis Perkins plc
Travis Perkins plc is a leading partner to the construction industry and the UK’s leading distributor of building materials to trade customers. The Group operates market leading businesses, including Travis Perkins Builders’ Merchants, Toolstation and a number of specialists in the civils market (Keyline), heating and ventilation (BSS) and drylining and insulation (CCF), and many more. With annual revenues of £5bn, the Group employs nearly 20,000 colleagues across the UK, but also in France and Benelux through Toolstation. The company has a proud heritage that spans over 200 years. For more information, please visit www.travisperkinsplc.co.uk
