December 1st 2005

Entertainment UK (E.UK), Europe’s leading wholesale distributor of home entertainment products, has won the Retail & Distribution category of the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2005.

Now in their ninth year, the awards are run by Logistics Europe in partnership with Capgemini to honour excellence in supply chain operations across Europe. The judging panel, which includes Martin Christopher - Professor of Demand Management at Cranfield School of Management - as well as representatives from Capgemini and Logistics Europe, rewards teams and individuals that are the best in class in a particular industry.

As well as winning the Retail & Distribution category, E.UK came a close second in the Overall Winner award. The company was singled out for excellence in a very competitive and fast-moving market with marked seasonal trends and extreme variability in demand. The cornerstone of its entry was Oasis, a leading-edge supply chain solution which takes into account a variety of demand influences at individual store level to effectively manage customers’ stock.

Chris Webster, executive consultant of Capgemini said: "The selection of the winners this year was the toughest I've seen during Capgemini's involvement in the awards. E.UK were chosen as winners in their category because they are in a frantic and risky business and are managing it with aplomb."

Dr Phil Streatfield, Supply Chain Director of E.UK said: "We operate in an extremely harsh environment with unpredictable high-value products and increasingly demanding customers. Yet these very conditions have been the key to our success of late, as they have forced us to develop creative low-cost solutions that best lever our core capabilities to lower our cost to serve and still provide exceptional levels of service."