A pioneering leader in logistics at Nestlé York has retired after more than 30 years in the industry.
Sally Wright, who has worked in the transport hub at the site in Haxby Road, since 2002, has stepped down but left her role on a high.
In the last week before her retirement, Sally completed a project for all Nestle owned HGV’s to run on alternative fuels, all diesel will be removed from Nestlé’s own fleet operation. Some are electric and some have switched to HVO fuel instead of diesel.
Although ground-breaking, this isn’t the only project Sally has completed this year before she retired. She has also launched bio LNG trucks, started apprenticeships for drivers and begun trials on products being moved by rail containers and electric shunters.
Head of Delivery, Sally Wright said: “I’ve had a phenomenal career at Nestlé, which I am so grateful for. I have been given so many opportunities during my 22 years and have been able to drive a lot of change. Having leadership who trust me and give me the confidence to push forward with projects, has been great.
“I love logistics and the whole industry is fast-paced and exciting.
“I am so proud to have led these four significant projects, they are huge changes which make our transport and logistic functions fit for the future and the vehicles changes and trials are another valuable step towards Nestlé's commitment to halve its emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.”
Sally joined Nestlé in 2002, managing the fleets of vehicles and understanding the movements of these vehicles across the Nestlé network, before becoming the Customer Services Manager for Nestlé Waters where she liaised with the head offices of big supermarkets to ensure supply met demand.
“This was a real grounding for me in logistics where you have to look through the eye of our customers and I wouldn’t be where I am today without doing such a role. It was challenging at times but that experience has been very valuable.”
She then moved into transport planning ensuring the movement of products between factories and distribution centres, liquid chocolate from York to Halifax as well as other raw materials and packaging. Sally explains the team-work like putting together a giant complicated jigsaw, making the most of trucks making the trip between factories, distribution centres and customers, minimising empty running and maximising the number of pallets on each journey.
Sally then managed a third party warehouse operation for Nestlé before moving to manage the York distribution centre based on the Nestlé York campus, overseeing deliveries in and out for the north of England and into Scotland. One of the huge projects Sally oversaw at that time was bringing the Nescafé Dulce Gusto webshop in house and into the distribution centre in York.
“It was a big project as it was the first time we’d managed a direct to consumer operation in-house, and e-commerce was still very much in its infancy for Nestlé,” she said.
In 2018, Sally was promoted to Head of Delivery, where during that time, she worked through the pandemic ensuring drivers were working safely as key workers keeping the food people needed on shelves in supermarkets.
The 52-year-old from Market Weighton added: “I’m a big supporter of women in logistics and we are seeing more and more women considering it now as a career. It’s about seeing more people like me in this industry and showing what is possible. I have always been about challenging the “why” and asking, “why not?”
“I couldn’t have done any of this on my own and have been incredibly lucky to have had brilliant leaders and an utterly amazing team around me.”
Sally will take some time off in the new year with her dogs, before hoping to volunteer in her community.