
Walgreens Boots Alliance's (WBA), formerly Alliance Boots, vision is to be a world-class pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, and key to this is their national portfolio of stores. Interserve deliver total facilities management services across stores in the UK and Ireland plus WBA's 320-acre headquarters estate in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, and the flagship store on Oxford Street, London.
Interserve started working with WBA in 2006 when we were contracted to deliver retail cleaning services to 360 stores, with an empasis on improving cleaning standards.
Two years later WBA took the decision to rationalise its supply base and therefore benefit from a single point of contact, reduced management time and costs. This expanded Interserve’s portfolio to encompass airport stores, two distribution centres and a retail store portfolio of 1,027 stores, which has since increased to include 120 stores in Ireland.
Less than six years later, WBA awarded Interserve a five year contract to provide a total facilities management service across all facilities. This new contract went live in February 2012. Interserve is delivering significant cost-savings across the organisation’s office estate, as well as implementing a range of added-value initiatives to the working environment.
Central to WBA's decision to select Interserve as its support services partner was the existing relationship between the two companies.
Working in partnership with WBA, Interserve analysed and evaluated current working procedures, identifying areas where they can potentially improve productivity and service delivery, driving value and striving to achieve significant cost savings across the organisation’s office estate, as well as implementing a range of added-value initiatives to the working environment.
As part of the new total facilities management contract, the team will support over 8,000 WBA employees across eight office locations throughout the UK, including its corporate head office in London and headquarters in Beeston, Nottingham - a site covering over 300 acres, including offices, warehouses, distribution centres and conference facilities.
Interserve has refocused facilities management service delivery around the needs of staff and visitors. This approach will achieve significant cost savings, improve customer service, enhance the working environment, increase productivity and ensure that all services continually evolve to meet the client’s needs in a consistent and standardised manner.
Head of Procurement (Property & IT) and Facilities Management at WBA comments, “Combining our office support services through this total facilities management contract will help increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Moreover, our staff will benefit from a range of new initiatives, which will help to support our business goals of improving customer service as well as enhancing the working environment for employees. This is part of our commitment to delivering the same welcoming, positive experience at all our sites.”
Operationally
Single national provider of total facilities management for Walgreens Boots Alliance's (WBA) headquarters, a retail store portfolio of 1,300 stores and eight office locations within the UK.
Large-scale TUPE transition of over 1,550 people to Interserve.
Interserve has achieved a £1.5 million saving through improved productivity and operational efficiencies for WBA offices and a £4.5 million saving in their retail outlets.