---
title: "Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP (HITRANS)"
published: "2023-11-14"
---

# Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study

Buyer: HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP (HITRANS)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911

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## Summary

The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) has awarded a contract for the "Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study" to WSP. The study aims to assess the transport requirements of the Scotch Whisky industry in the Highlands and Islands region of Scotland. The tender was in the award stage, with a contract value of £39,987 GBP signed on 9th November 2023. The study focuses on identifying current and future freight needs of the industry, transport issues, decarbonisation options, and resilience to climate change.

The "Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study" tender by HITRANS offers business growth opportunities for consultants with experience in the whisky sector. The study requires expertise in understanding the industry's transport needs, potential barriers to growth, and climate change impacts. The potential business opportunities lie in providing recommendations for addressing transport issues, decarbonising freight transport, and ensuring the industry's resilience to climate challenges within the region.

## Notice

Bottlenecks! Whisky Logistics - Identifying the barriers to growth in the Highlands and Islands

### Lot Information

Lot 1

HITRANS is seeking a suitably qualified consultant to undertake an assessment of the transport requirements of the Scotch Whisky industry in the Highlands and Islands region of Scotland. IN 2013 HITRANS and the SWA commissioned a study into whisky logistics in the Highlands and Islands, identifying the infrastructure barriers to growth in the production of whisky. The project seeks to identify current and future freight needs of the industry, identify any related freight transport issues, and make recommendations for addressing those issues. It should also identify how future transport options can address the climate emergency and help the Scotch Whisky industry deliver its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2045. The project should additionally explore resilience issues of the region's transport infrastructure that could arise in relation to Scotland's changing climate. Background and Project Overview We are now seeking a refresh of that work, in the light of increased output, new production sites, and changes to the freight network including ferries. The Highlands and Islands is currently home to 56 Scotch Whisky distilleries. Of these, 21 are located on 8 of the region's islands. There are also a number of other operational sites within the region including maltings, maturation warehousing and bottling. The industry's operations depend on freight logistics. Table 1 shows some of the material flows in the production process. This is a simplified diagram showing the main, inputs and outputs. Some sites are fully integrated, and their processes include malting, distillation, maturation and bottling and as a consequence will have different material requirements. At the time of writing, all movements between operational sites take place by road. Ferries are used for island connections. Some malting barley is transported to Islay by a dedicated bulk carrier for malting on the island. Project requirement The broad requirement is to explore the issues relating to the industry's dependence on Scotland's infrastructure. A written report is requested which will help the SWA to call on Government, agencies and other stakeholders to ensure that the industry's needs are met. Project Outputs The output for this project is a report to include the following defined chapters: 1. Assessment of the Scotch Whisky industry's current and future freight needs 2. Current and future transport issues that may affect the Scotch Whisky industry's operations within the H&I region and connections to and from the region in respect of the industry operations. 3. Recommendations for how issues identified in 2. can be addressed. 4. Identifying decarbonisation options for freight transport the industry relies on in the region. 5. Identifying future resilience issues that may arise as a result of Scotland's changing climate. The report should be produced in electronic form. Study Management The Consultant will report to HITRANS and SWA at key points during the work including face-to-face at the inception meeting and thereafter in person or by telephone/video conference as required, with a draft report meeting in person towards the end of the project. The venue will normally be in Edinburgh. Bidders may seek clarifications on the tender; responses will be made available to all bidders. Personnel The consultants selected for this commission must demonstrate recent experience of the whisky sector and a good geographical knowledge of the study area, its transport links, the barriers to growth and the potential for exposure to the impacts of climate change. Consultants are expected to demonstrate their capacity to deliver similar projects within comparable timeframes, referring to relevant technical expertise of team members. Selection Consultants will be selected by written submission.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV492588 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 14 Nov 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 27 Oct 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Nov 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £45,000 |
| Lots value | £45,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £39,987 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP (HITRANS) |
| Locality | INVERNESS |
| Post town | Inverness |
| Postcode | IV3 5NQ |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM2 Highlands and Islands |
| ITL 3 | TLM20 Highlands and Islands |
| Local authority | Highland |
| Electoral ward | Inverness West |
| Westminster constituency | Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire |
| Delivery location | TLM6 Highlands and Islands |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | WSP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services

## Release History

- 14 Nov 2023 at 00:00 - Award - PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV492588
- 2 Oct 2023 at 00:00 - Tender - PCS Notice - Website Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT489462

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=OCT489462&idx=1
  2nd October 2023 - Bottlenecks brief
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT489462
  Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study - Bottlenecks! Whisky Logistics - Identifying the barriers to growth in the Highlands and Islands
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=NOV492588
  Bottlenecks - Whisky Logistics Study - Bottlenecks! Whisky Logistics - Identifying the barriers to growth in the Highlands and Islands

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.hitrans.org.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000745911.json.