Global leader in pallet and container pooling services, CHEP, has been awarded a three-year contract renewal by Dairy Crest worth a total of more than £5 million.
Howard Bell, Procurement Controller at Dairy Crest, said: "We have worked with CHEP for some time, allowing them to gain a real insight into our business. We challenged them to come up with new ways of delivering value which would move them from their sole role as our equipment supplier, into that of strategic partner. I am pleased to say that they responded with some excellent initiatives to extend their business with us which will not only reduce costs, but will reduce the negative environmental impact of one-way packaging by replacing it with CHEP's pooled equipment. This convinced us to renew our contract."
CHEP has been supplying pallets to Dairy Crest, which has 19 sites in the UK, Ireland and France, for more than 15 years. Pallet movements take place across Dairy Crest's three divisions - retail food, retail liquids and household products. The retail food division produces some of the UK's best-known dairy brands including Cathedral City (the UK's top selling Cheddar), Clover spread and Country Life butter.
In addition, Dairy Crest and CHEP have been working on a project which involves both Dairy Crest and their European suppliers utilising CHEP's various platforms rather than the current one-way pallets and containers. Packaging and raw materials coming from Europe will now be on CHEP pallets which will then be re-used by Dairy Crest for exporting their finished goods. This will eliminate the use of the one-way pallet and so reduce costs and waste.
Over the last 12 months CHEP's role has developed from operational provider to strategic partner. Dairy Crest and CHEP are currently reviewing together a specific service for Dairy Crest's milk cage fleet. Here a dedicated CHEP team will use their expertise to better control the flow and reduce the losses of Dairy Crest's milk cage fleet which undergoes some 6.5 million movements a year.
Additionally, as a result of the strengthened business partnership, Dairy Crest's ingredients division reviewed its pallet usage and decided that for moving bulk products, such as buttermilk and cream, to manufacturers in the UK and mainland Europe, CHEP provides a number of solutions with both environmental and financial benefits. To this end CHEP will now supply an additional 80,000 pallet flows a year.
Daniel Walsh, Commercial Director, CHEP UK and Ireland, commented: "I am delighted that Dairy Crest - the UK's leading chilled dairy foods company - has awarded us a further three year contract and that we are also working with them on other key supply chain initiatives. This business, combined with recent contract wins from other blue chip firms such as Premier Foods and Arla Foods, provides further evidence of our expertise in supporting the food and drink sectors."