September 13 2018 | #BESTPRACTICE
The modal cuts two ways
Delivery reliability
In addition to the quality of the products themselves – ‘ we make every candy moment a surprising experience ’ – logistics is of great importance to us. Research has shown that an empty compartment in the supermarket means that consumers can easily choose an alternative. For us, a ‘ out of stock ’ means 100% loss of turnover. I myself am responsible for all transports ‘ finished product ’ to and from the Benelux, Germany, France and UK. Some of our products for these regions are made in our factories in Turkey, Spain, Italy or Russia and occasionally in one of our factories in China. As indicated earlier, delivery reliability is of the utmost importance.
Sustainability
Perfetti Van Melle is a modern company that attaches great importance to sustainability. We also want to bring down the carbon footprint of our company and one of the methods for achieving this is to use intermodal transport. For the maritime export containers, we want to see whether they can be transported from our factories in Breda and Weert to the seaports by inland shipping. The import flows from our factories in Istanbul and Barcelona are transported by train to the Benelux. Currently from Istanbul first by truck to Curtici (Romania) and from there on the train to Genk. From Barcelona, the containers of candy cross the road to France and then by train to Zeebrugge.
Quality
We are very satisfied with the quality of rail transport and have very little to worry about. However, I must honestly say that we have very well-functioning logistics service providers for both routes, for Turkey H. Essers and for Barcelona P&O Ferrymasters. Both parties sometimes also serve as a buffer and eliminate shortcomings. This satisfaction is the reason that almost 100% of the import flows from Spain and Turkey are tracked. From the arrival terminals, the containers are further transported to Bakker Zeewolde and Tilburg, which takes care of the entire logistics of our products within the Benelux and part of the exports.
Other causes
The shift of our transport from road to inland shipping and rail is expected to continue. In addition to sustainability, there are other reasons to adjust our transport, namely: the increasing congestion on the road and the increasing lack of drivers. The blade of the modal shift therefore cuts both ways: on the one hand it is better for the environment and on the other hand it means good delivery reliability of our products for us.
P&O Ferrymasters
P&O Ferrymasters is a leading supplier of customized logistics and transport solutions in Europe. Their customers are key to everything they do.
H. Essers
H. Essers offers domestic and pan-European multimodal solutions with its own locations at departure and final destination.
