With the 2012 Olympics taking place from 27th July to 12th August and the Paralympic Games from 29th August to 9th September, London and locations across the UK were caught up in an exciting and wide ranging series of events. Many months of detailed planning was required to ensure that everything ran smoothly, not least in the area of logistics.
This meant that Relay was very busy indeed with preparation and implementation of deliveries and collections.
For a start, we were heavily involved with bringing in a wide range of equipment to Olympic sites, including laboratory refrigerators to keep blood samples for testing, medical equipment for hospital areas, vending machines for nourishing competitors and office equipment for supporting administration. The other major challenge was to ensure that normal collections and deliveries for customers got through with the minimum disruption to timings.
A Relay Summer 2012 Action Plan was put in place well in advance of events, covering communication between customers, suppliers and the Relay team. It included special instructions relating to the Olympic and Paralympic Road Networks, the 30 miles of dedicated Games Lanes, the 34 Olympic venues inside and outside London, congestion hotspots, traffic and parking restrictions and crucial times to avoid.
The Plan proved invaluable in helping us arrange our schedules, plot in special overnight deliveries and make sure that equipment crucial for both the Olympics and our customers’ normal business operations got delivered and set up when and where it was needed.
For the Olympics to be good for business, it was essential that first class logistics was in place. That’s where Relay excels and we were happy to play our part in making the Olympics and Paralympics a success for all.