Don’t blame DHL for the KFC distribution problems, according to Richard Wilding, professor of supply chain strategy at Cranfield University and chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.

Wilding said, “Media discussion has pointed a finger at the logistics provider DHL, as well as its reliance on a single distribution centre. On both counts that’s wrong”.

The KFC supply chain has been pulling together since Monday week when around 60% of its restaurants were forced to close. By Friday last week, more than 90% of its chicken shops had re-opened.

Wilding said: “Using a single distribution centre in the ‘Golden Rectangle’ between Milton Keynes and Rugby on the M1/M6 is a well-established and proven means of getting products to a network of outlets anywhere in the UK. Big name supermarkets have been working this way from warehouses in Daventry for many years.

“The real reason chicken didn’t get to KFC outlets was simply because it was a new system, involving a group of new partners, running for the first time. Experience has shown that plugging together new software and other technologies leads to teething problems.”

It may well have been a good piece of publicity for KFC, which hasn’t had blanket media coverage of this kind in years. Many of those who haven’t thought of having fried chicken for a while will have been reminded of the company through the blaring, sometimes cheeky headlines. Not all bad publicity is bad for business…