Martin Oakes, logistics, IT and new business development director at Somerfield, has left the retailer.

Oakes left this month after completing a project to outsource all of Somerfield's logistics to distribution company Wincanton, a spokesman said.

The retailer has been focusing on becoming the UK's premium local grocery store group and has been streamlining the business, outsourcing both IT and logistics, the spokesman added.

Oakes joined Somerfield in May 2000 and was appointed to its board of directors in November 2002. He has more than 17 years' experience in logistics, having previously worked for Wincanton, Tibbett and Britten and as distribution director for Safeway.

During his time at Somerfield, Oakes worked on a number of initiatives, including trialling 24-hour lead times on fresh produce to drive availability and further reduce stockholding, and rolling out voice-picking technology across its depots in a bid to improve productivity and accuracy.

He will not be replaced at Somerfield. Responsibility for logistics will be handed to the group's retail director, John Cleland, while Oliver Meakin, head of IT and strategy for Somerfield, will look after IT.

Somerfield has been busy this year streamlining its IT and logistics operations. Last month it announced it was outsourcing its IT department to India with the loss of up to 120 jobs at its Bristol head office. The move was part of a drive to "improve and support business strategy", it said.

In September, Somerfield announced that Wincanton had been chosen as the preferred supplier for its distribution operations in a five-year £900m contract. In addition to the nine sites Wincanton already operated for Somerfield, its operations at Lea Green, Cardinal and Huntingdon were transferred to the group.

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