Fears that a hiccup in the new delivery hub logistics adopted by The Garden Centre Group would cause a shortage in the garden centre network’s vital plant trolley hire system have been dismissed by the operators.

TGCG have handed responsibility for their two-hub delivery system to transport and logistics specialists Norbert Dentressangle in a deal believed to result in ultra-significant cost savings.

However, Container Centralen say rumours of confusion over how TGCG’s empty Danish trolleys were to be returned to their central pool have proved to be unfounded. “We have assurances from The Garden Centre Group that sufficient trolleys will be available to meet their commitments,” said a spokesman. “The system, is intact.”

The CC pools system – in which a guaranteed number of trolleys, mostly now electronically tagged, circulate between growers and garden centres via a network of CC depots – is regarded as vital for the continuous supply of fresh plants, especially at the spring and autumn sales peaks. It eliminates the need for capital investment by garden centres in new trolleys.

Following apparently successful trials over the winter, suppliers to The Garden Centre Group now deliver into just two hubs, from which Norbert Dentressangle distribute to the group’s 139 outlets. Sources close to the retailer say the new logistics contract could mean cost savings of “more than seven figures”.