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“Our experience of the pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of relying on international just-in-time supply chains... In that spirit, we must drive a new partnership with industry and a radical reform of procurement, creating jobs, wealth, and opportunity in every corner of our country” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, The Strategic Defence Review, 2025.
The Ministry of Defence’s shifting priorities
The UK’s defence sector is undergoing a major transition, driven by the shift transition towards warfighting readiness, as set out in The Strategic Defence Review, 2025 (SDR). This includes the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with commitments such as:
- Construction of 12 new attack submarines
- £1.5 billion to build six new munitions factories, sustaining an ‘always on’ weapons pipeline
- £1 billion to strengthen national cyber and electromagnetic command
- Rebuilding the defence industrial base to serve as an engine for growth
Defence Secretary, John Healey, has described the overhaul as creating "a new era for defence”. This is supported by substantial investments in artificial intelligence, drones, long-range precision weapons, electronic warfare capabilities and fully integrated battlefield operations – all designed to align the UK’s military with current and emerging threats. These investments are expected to generate tens of thousands of new jobs, enable the production of up to 7,000 long-range weapons, including missiles, rockets and drones, and drive deeper private sector collaboration.
These ambitions are unfolding against a backdrop of fast-evolving global political and economic uncertainty. This instability, compounded by years of constrained defence budgets and the urgent need for more advanced Armed Forces, is placing significant pressure on global and domestic defence supply chains.
For defence contractors, particularly Tier 1 primes, this shift demands rapid scaling of manufacturing to meet growing operational requirements. Defence logistics must be scalable, agile, robust and accurate – ensuring that the right assets are produced in the right quantities, and deployed to the right location, at the right time.
Elevating inbound supply
The SDR instils a clear sense of urgency for prime contractors to align their logistics support with the Ministry of Defence’s vision of a “leading tech-enabled defence power, with an Integrated Force that deters, fights and wins through constant innovation at wartime pace.” (SDR). In this environment, a robust supply chain becomes a key competitive differentiator. Primes that invest early in developing optimised, resilient logistics will be better positioned to secure contracts and deliver to the Ministry’s expectations on speed, resilience and visibility. Planning and efficiency in the earliest stages of procurement create a ripple effect felt across the entire supply chain lifecycle.
This strategic shift demands logistics systems capable of operating at an entirely new pace and scale – supporting sustained campaigns while accommodating increased capabilities. The UK’s defence transformation will be crucially supported by enhanced logistics and stronger, more integrated supply chains. Such adaptability gives confidence that supply chains can perform under mounting pressure and respond to the evolving demands of warfighting readiness. Strengthening logistics oversight and compliance across supplier eco-systems ensures every link in the chain meets the Ministry of Defence’s security and delivery standards.
An effective inbound manufacturing supply chain enables primes to focus on key deliverables such as faster production readiness through timely availability of parts and materials and reduced lead time for complex assemblies. Greater visibility leads to improved quality through traceability of components, and cost control without sacrificing compliance through optimised warehousing, transport and lower inventory hold costs.
Wincanton: solving challenges through operational excellence
Getting the right materials into your operation at the right time, and in optimal condition requires the right systematic controls. With almost six decades working in defence logistics, Wincanton has the expertise, integrated systems and proven track record to bolster prime contractor’s logistics operations with enhanced mobility, scalability and visibility. We have long-standing partnerships with leading defence clients such as BAE Systems, RBSL and Thales.
Wincanton is ready to solve challenges that require a combination of compliance, experience, flexibility, speed and agility, with a culture of continuous improvement embedded in our operational excellence and underpinning everything we do.
Our capability to support inventory across the entire supply chain lifecycle – from the moment it leaves the manufacturer to the point the manufacturing plan says, ‘I need that part now.’
We operate with full FSC and List X compliance, Section 5 capability and a team of cleared personnel. Now as part of GXO, Wincanton also has the international infrastructure in place to scale at pace.
Wincanton defence in numbers (as of 2025)
- £1 billion of assets managed across our estate
- 1 million square feet of warehousing
- 99% inventory accuracy
- 5 million transactions carried out annually
- 100,000 annual export-controlled movements
- 600 highly trained, security compliant operatives
Sustaining forces through robust supply chains
Defence logistics is a strategic enabler, and you are only as effective, resilient and agile as your supply chain. To continue supporting Ministry of Defence operations effectively, and sustaining forces in the field, contractors must ensure their supply chains are scalable, secure, responsive and robust.
Discover more about Wincanton’s experience servicing the defence industry
About the Author: Derek Stirling
Derek Stirling, Defence Director, Wincanton (now part of GXO)
Derek leads the Defence and Industrial Sector. He joined Wincanton in 2015 to lead the TUPE of the BAE Contract and closure of the ACA Contract. Derek assumed the role as Country Manager in 2021 to lead the groups strategy to develop and implement our new Scotland Gateway. Derek worked for Amazon before joining Wincanton. Experienced operational leader with over 25 years working for large corporates throughout his career.