Culina Logistics Long Service Event at Uttoxeter Races

Culina Logistics, the leading provider of logistics services for food and drink companies in the UK and Ireland, hosted its annual Long Service Event to recognise staff who have dedicated up to 40 years of service to the company.

Seventy staff members and their partners enjoyed a celebratory day out at Uttoxeter Races, to mark significant milestones in service to the company starting at five years.

Thomas van Mourik, Chief Executive of Culina Logistics, said: “Each year we like to do something special to thank our staff for all the years of hard work and dedication to the business. Culina has enjoyed much success over the years and this is all down to the valid contributions made by our staff to uphold the company policy of customer service excellence.”

John Edkins, celebrating 20 years’ service with Culina, said: “I have very much enjoyed working as a driver for Culina for the past two decades, and it was great to be treated to a wonderful day out with my colleagues to celebrate this milestone in my career.”

Share this article:

Eugene Maher

Eugene Maher, an independent food and drink logistics expert, takes a look at the changing face of the Irish logistics sector, and assesses how food and drink suppliers are enhancing their supply chain efficiencies for the benefit of the grocery convenience sector.

“A lot has happened in the Irish food and drink logistics marketplace over the last three years, driven by actions taken by the main supermarket chains to enhance their competitiveness. Consequently this has created significant supply chain challenges for food and drink manufacturers when delivering to the grocery convenience sector, which represents circa 35 per cent of the total food retail trade in Ireland.

Two key developments have taken place. Firstly, the main supermarket chains have centralised their distribution requirements. The knock-on effect of this is that food and drink producers no longer deliver direct to these supermarkets. Whereas previously goods destined for the main supermarkets and convenience stores would be delivered on the same vehicle, this is no longer the case. This, in turn, has made it more costly for suppliers to deliver their products to convenience stores, which are geographically dispersed and often located in remote areas of Ireland. 

Secondly, the main supermarkets are using their purchasing power with their existing suppliers and wholesalers in the UK and bypassing the Irish market to get the best deals. This, coupled with the fact that they can consolidate supplier goods in the UK for onward delivery to their recently established distribution centres, where product is picked for individual stores, means they are gaining further cost advantage over the grocery convenience sector in Ireland.

So how can food and drink suppliers enhance their supply chain efficiencies for the benefit of the grocery convenience sector in Ireland?

Ideally what is required is a logistics solution, which enables food and drink suppliers in the UK or Ireland to bulk distribute goods into a major stockholding facility, ready to be picked to order for individual convenience stores across Ireland, and then delivered via a shared user network to the outlets to ensure maximum vehicle utilisation and minimum food miles travelled across the whole supply chain. By having such a seamless supply chain solution with a central stockholding facility, UK suppliers would also be able to guarantee on-shelf availability due to being able to take orders for next day delivery, and reduce waste by better matching supply to demand.

The issue with such a solution is that it demands major investment, and no Irish logistics operators have realistically been in a position to raise the necessary finance for such a development.

That was until a joint venture (JV) was created earlier this year between the Culina Group, which provides total supply chain services to 90 premium brand UK and Irish suppliers, and the SHS Group. Over the last 12 months I have been involved with what is arguably one of the most exciting logistics developments in the Irish food and drink industry.  The JV company, Culina SHS Ireland, today provides an unrivalled operational platform driven by leading edge technologies. This consists of a central warehousing facility in South Dublin and a shared user distribution network, comprising a 22-strong vehicle fleet, which is wholly owned by the company. This means that Culina SHS has complete control over the supply chain for the benefit of its customers.

In addition to providing a storage facility for all food producers and processors in Ireland for their finished goods, ingredients and raw materials, Culina SHS offers both UK and Irish-based food and drink manufacturers the opportunity to help the grocery convenience chains remain competitive in the food retail sector in Ireland by providing a highly cost-effective logistics solution. This is not only important in terms of responding to the developments in the food and drink supply chain outlined above, but is also particularly critical at a time of prolonged economic uncertainty, which is putting downward pressure on the premium prices charged by the convenience stores.” 

Share this article:

The Culina Group has taken another significant step into the Irish food and drink logistics market following the appointment of its subsidiary, Culina SHS (Ireland), by Müller Dairy to provide a total supply chain service for its range of yogurts and chilled pot desserts across the whole of Ireland. The contract forms a key part of Müller Dairy’s plans to grow its business in Ireland.

The contract between Müller Dairy and Culina SHS will start from 1 December, 2010 and reinforces
Culina’s growing reputation as a leading provider of total supply chain services across the Irish food
and drink market and between the UK and Ireland. Culina SHS will be responsible for the
stockholding and distribution of major brands including Müller Corner; Müllerlight; Müller Rice;
Müller Little Stars; Vitality, Amoré; and the Cadbury Twin Pot and Trifle chilled dessert range.
At the heart of Culina SHS’s logistics service for Müller is a state-of-the-art 160,000 sq ft ambient
and chilled warehouse in Rathcoole, Dublin, which features a sophisticated warehouse
management system to provide automatic stock replenishment and complete visibility of order
status throughout the supply chain.

Paul O’Donnell, operations director at Culina SHS Ireland, says: "We are delighted to have secured
a contract with Müller as they have been a major success story in the Irish market. The company’s
portfolio of dairy products has shown significant growth in both Northern Ireland and Republic of
Ireland and generate 400,000 pot sales a day.1 Already established as the No2 yogurt brand in
Northern Ireland2, Müller is poised to move into the No 2 slot in the Republic of Ireland. We are
looking forward to playing a key part in their future success."

“The contract with a big brand name, such as Müller, is also significant in that it reflects the fact that
we now provide an operational platform that offers a highly cost efficient logistics solution to every
sector of the Irish grocery market, from major retailer NDCs through to the hard-to-reach grocery
convenience sector.”

O’Donnell adds: “In recent times, the centralisation of distribution requirements by the major
retailers in Ireland has meant that it has been more challenging for food and drink manufacturers to
deliver their products to convenience stores cost efficiently. Whereas before they were distributing
direct to the main supermarkets and convenience stores across Ireland they are now only
undertaking the latter, which makes it more expensive to service. Our warehousing and shared user
distribution operation, driven by leading edge technology, ensures a cost effective solution, despite
the move to centralisation by the supermarkets, combined with the geographical challenges in
Ireland and the associated distances involved. In doing so, we can enable food and drink producers
to help the convenience sector remain competitive in today’s challenging economic climate, which
continues to put downward pressure on the premium prices charged by convenience stores.”

Gharry Eccles, Müller Dairy’s CEO, says: “We have very ambitious plans to escalate the
development of our business in Ireland in the medium and long-term."

“At this pivotal stage in our expansion plans, we felt it was appropriate to explore all avenues to
ensure our logistics operation is geared towards providing the most effective and cost-efficient
service to our widening customer base."

“Following the opening of its new ambient, chilled and temperature controlled warehouse facility near
Dublin earlier this year, Culina SHS is now in a position to offer a seamless, one-stop-shop supply
chain solution covering the whole of Ireland. With this facility in place, we believe that Culina SHS is
operationally geared to deliver our future logistics requirements.”

1 Source: Combined Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Internal sales data.

Share this article: