Sainsbury’s has invested £220m in making “big, bold” changes across its supply chain as it upgrades and expands its existing logistics operations.

The move will affect around 7,000 employees as the grocer looks to improve services, innovation and availability throughout the network.

The big 4 supermarket will be moving to three dedicated partnerships across transport, food, and general merchandise and clothing by the end of 2024, instead of multiple different contracts across the network.

Around 3,000 Sainsbury’s and Argos colleagues and just over 4,000 existing third-party colleagues will transfer between partners in the new restructure, and it is estimated that the investment will cost around £220m over the next three years.

“We know these are big, bold changes and we have invested a huge amount of time planning this transformation to make sure it is successful,” Sainsbury’s chief executive, Simon Roberts said.

“We believe our logistics and fulfilment operation will be one of our key competitive advantages in the future and today’s announcement will benefit our whole network through knowledge sharing and increased innovation.

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Building on a 25-year relationship, the retailer will move transport services for most of its operations, including Sainsbury’s and Argos and its central transport functions, to Wincanton.

The leading supply chain partner will remain responsible for the Sainsbury’s convenience store operations, servicing stores across London and the south-east of England.

Wincanton – which also works extensively with Waitrose – will also work collaboratively to bring advanced technology to the operations, alongside upgrading the fleet. This investment will support delivery of Sainsbury’s carbon reduction targets by 2035.

On the food side of the business, Sainsbury’s will partner with supply chain management partner GXO across fresh and frozen at several warehouse sites, while the majority of Sainsbury’s own food warehouse operations will remain in house.

Following recently proposed changes to the general merchandise network, DHL will take on additional warehouse operations for this part of the network, including Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing.

The delivery service will also continue to operate warehousing and transport for home deliveries.

Roberts added: “We understand that this is an important announcement for affected colleagues within Sainsbury’s, Argos and across our logistics partners and we will support them through this consultation process.

“With these changes, our focus is on improving the service we offer our stores and customers, accessing global expertise, and providing new career paths for the future – no matter which partner our colleagues are working for.”

Chief executive officer of Wincanton, James Wroath commented: “We’re delighted to have been selected as Sainsbury’s trusted transport partner of choice,”

“Today’s announcement is testament to the high level of service and innovation that we deliver consistently, and further strengthens our long-standing partnership.”

He added: “We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the Wincanton team and continuing to deliver exceptional service to Sainsbury’s,” Wroath said.

UK&I managing director at GXO, Gavin Williams offered his thoughts: “We have enjoyed a great partnership with Sainsbury’s for many years and are incredibly excited to become Sainsbury’s partner of choice for its food warehouses nationwide.

“The scale of this new business win is tremendous and is a testament to our track record of operational excellence, customer service, continuous innovation and our people.

“We look forward to supporting Sainsbury’s at a national level through a more expansive, enhanced and innovative offering in fulfilment.”