When the Ministry of Defence (MOD) took the decision to introduce a Public Private Partnership Programme (PPP) in regard to its materials handling service and ask for tenders from third parties, it was vital that the organisation they eventually chose could deliver what was required of them, absolutely and without having any impact on operational effectiveness. The organisation which won the £76 million Tri-Services Contract, the largest single materials handling contract ever awarded in the UK, was Barloworld Handling.