Bridgestone secures Greggs fleet deal

Bridgestone has signed a fleet partnership with Greggs, which cited the Bridgestone Partner network, transparent reporting systems and breakdown response times as key reasons behind the decision.

The agreement will see the bakery chain’s entire UK fleet of vehicles fitted on the company’s premium tyres until 2020, with new regional Bridgestone product being fitted to all of Greggs’ commercial vehicles, eventually leading to Bridgestone Bandag retreaded product for the tyres’ second stage of life.

Bridgestone’s fleet business development manager Ian Davis said: “Greggs is a household name and to be selected from an extremely competitive tendering process is a great achievement for the team.

“The Bridgestone Partner network, which assists more than 35,000 stranded commercial vehicle operators per year, boasts an average time of 62 minutes taken from the moment the first call was made to the point at which roadside assistance arrived. These figures struck a chord with Greggs, as did our clear, transparent reporting tools.

“Having then arrived at a stricken vehicle, we demonstrated that it takes an average of 51 minutes to complete each job, meaning that each vehicle is up-and-running in an average of less than two hours, from the time the first call was made.”

Meanwhile, Bridgestone’s central billing – and levels of detail within it – was also cited as an influential factor. Greggs’ fleet manager Chris Pyne said: “We were very impressed with Bridgestone’s approach to our fleet and the want in which they would support us.

“We were aware of their premium products which are obviously very important to us, but the holistic approach to the maintenance and management of each tyre they provide us with was very impressive.”

The Greggs partnership continues Bridgestone’s impressive announcements in recent weeks. Earlier this year, Bridgestone secured a $110m (£80m), five-year deal with transport operator FirstGroup, while dairy giants Arla also extended an existing agreement for a further three years, taking their relationship into a 10th consecutive year.

Picture caption: Greggs’ southern fleet manager Chris Pyne (right) is pictured with Bridgestone’s fleet manager Ian Davis.