Logistics services provider Culina secure contract with Milk Link

Culina Logistics, the leading provider of logistics services for food and drink companies in the UK and Ireland, has secured a contract with one of the UK’s largest dairy businesses.

Milk Link, which is entirely owned by British dairy farmers and produces a wide range of dairy products, has awarded Culina Logistics a contract to provide UK-wide distribution and warehousing for its chilled cheese, butter and milk-finished goods.

On the appointment of Culina Logistics, Mark Robertson, Milk Link Operations Director, said: "As a farmer owned co-operative our primary objective is to deliver sustainable returns to our farmer Members and this is particularly vital at a time of considerable pressure and volatility both in the dairy sector and economy in general. The consistent delivery of first class service levels to our customers, through a fully integrated and cost efficient supply chain, is vital to that objective. Working with Culina Logistics will simplify our logistics arrangements, provide a flexible platform for future growth, deliver greater efficiencies, business profitability and ultimately allow us to maximise the returns we can offer to our Members."

Culina Logistics will collect over 400 finished product lines from Milk Link’s cheese and butter operations at their Oswestry cheese packing facility, Lockerbie Creamery, Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery, Reece’s Creamery, Llandyrnog Creamery and Crediton Dairy. The goods will then be warehoused at Culina’s depots in Bristol and Stafford with picked orders subsequently being delivered to major food retailers, food processors and food service organisations across the UK. These depots will also provide Milk Link with a sophisticated warehouse management system that will efficiently process orders and manage their stock movements.

Thomas van Mourik, Chief Executive of Culina Logistics, said: "This contract further reinforces our market leading credentials in the chilled food sector as well as our capability to transform supply chain performance for the benefit of the business. It also reflects our overriding commitment to customer service – from getting the products to market on time to handling them with utmost care so they arrive at the retail outlets in first class condition."