The starting point: our new, sustainable distribution centre in Ede. The destination: retailers throughout the Benelux. Since last autumn, that has been the route for Kraft Heinz sauces, cereal breakfasts and lemonades. With a possible stop in Vetipak's co-packing area just before departure. Since January we have been repacking bulk products into consumer units on special request. A look back at Q1 from three perspectives.
VETIPAK: ON THE WISH LIST
"We are proud that we can work for such a big player," says Vetipak business development manager Joergen Pleijte. "To be quite honest: Kraft Heinz had been on our wish list for a while. Even though on paper we work for our trusted partner AG Logistics, in practice we mainly switch with Kraft Heinz. How does that work? It gives me a good feeling that both parties take our advice to heart."
Professionalism, knowledge and flexibility: that is what Kraft Heinz and AG Logistics were looking for. And that is exactly what we can deliver. Joergen: "If a supermarket wants to set up a campaign quickly, that's no problem. Our employees are trained to work at multiple locations, which allows us to scale up in capacity. In Ede it involves shrinking and bundling units, re-casing and labelling products, and the production of displays. And because we always think in process terms, we can produce efficiently; food-safe and according to the customer's wishes."
KRAFT HEINZ: MORE AND MORE CUSTOMISATION
Kraft Heinz has two factories in the Netherlands: one in Utrecht and one in Elst (Gld.). Ede is not only right in between, but also perfectly central for supplying all the distribution centres of supermarkets in the Benelux. The co-packer plays an important role in this. "The demand for repackaging continues to grow," says Thanos Papakonstantinou, logistics excellence manager for continental Europe at Kraft Heinz. "This allows retailers to add extra value for their customers."
So far, so good. That is what Thanos says about the cooperation in recent months. He is satisfied with the flexibility, quality and speed. "Vetipak measures its performance continuously and in great detail, which makes everything transparent. So far, the figures are excellent, which is important for confidence. Will they deviate in the future? Then I am convinced that they will deal with it proactively. Finally, communication between all parties is good and this is the key to being able to deliver just in time."
AG LOGISTICS: FOCUS ON THE BULK
AG Logistics has been working with Kraft Heinz for some time now. From Oosterhout in Gelderland, the logistics company takes care of exports to Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa, among other places. Oosterhout also houses a bulk warehouse for the food giant. "Kraft Heinz asked us if we could build a new distribution centre in Ede, where a large part would be fitted out for them", says AG Logistics owner Arie Thomassen. "We said yes. Unique in the new building is the layer picker. This system allows us to assemble pallets in layers fully automatically."
"For the co-pack work we called in Vetipak, because they are the specialists in this," Arie continues. "They know the material like no other. Moreover, this allows us to focus on the bulk transport and the balancing of the new system. We have to build up algorithms to be able to deliver customised work; that simply takes time. But give us another six months... and we'll be ready for the future."
TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING
If it were up to Arie, it would be a future together with Kraft Heinz as an important client and with Vetipak as a partner. "We trust and understand each other. From there we can build something beautiful." "There are several ideas in the pipeline, where we are asking for additional production capabilities from Vetipak," Thanos adds in conclusion. "Maybe we can even expand our repack portfolio in the near future. In any case, a firm foundation has been laid!"