VMS Iceland Vans_3

Source: VMS Fleet Management

Iceland has expanded its delivery fleet with the addition of 250 new vans with double the crate capacity of its existing ones.

The Mercedes Sprinter 314 refrigerated vans are being supplied to help meet the expected high Christmas demand for online shopping.

The vans have ‘supermarket specification’ side-loading and are capable of ambient, chilled and frozen storage.

They are from VMS Fleet Management, which has supplied Iceland with 4,000 vehicles in a partnership spanning 15 years.

It is the latest in a series of steps through which Iceland has massively boosted its delivery capacity in the pandemic.

In September, Iceland MD Richard Walker said the chain had increased deliveries by 300% in the past 12 months, to about 40,000-50,000 a day, with the capacity for 750,000 a week. The expansion had created 3,000 new jobs, including in delivery and store picking, he said.

Iceland head of delivered sales Kevin Tully said online volume was now up 400% over the past year. “We’ve continued to work closely with VMS Fleet Management to support the significant increase in demand for online deliveries, seeing our volume increase by over 400% against last year’s numbers,” he said.

“The support we have received from VMS has enabled us to continue to service communities across the country and offer guaranteed deliveries to the most vulnerable. I am extremely excited about the new vehicles, which give further increases to our overall capacity and future-proof our fleet for years to come.”

VMS Fleet Management MD Martin James said: “Operationally, we’ve worked closely with Iceland over the years to ensure they are in a strong position to offer the kind of service their customers need and have come to expect.

“We’re very proud to be able to help them with the supply and management of these new vehicles so that Iceland can support and fulfil the orders made by those customers all over the country who are staying safe at home.”

Walker showed off one of the new vehicles in a tweet, saying: “Loving our new delivery vans!”

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