Supply chain management: Innovation and Sustainability first

22 Feb 2018

Last year Avebe took some important steps towards improving the service to its customers. This resulted in significant cost reductions and fewer customer-related complaints. Edwin de Jonge, Director Site Operations Foxhol, explains the most important supply chain management developments.

Supply chain management focuses on reducing customer-related complaints. During the past year good results have been achieved with first-time-right distribution to customers in the paper industry, explains Edwin. ‘We used a special app technology with QR codes and scanners. This innovative technology will reduce the chance of errors in this important part of the supply chain.’

Foto: Edwin de Jonge, Director Site Innovations Foxhol

Pride

Besides the app technology, the department has also worked on another great innovative project. ‘We’ve succeeded in creating a distribution concept for our liquid protein product Solanic. We’re now able to transport the refrigerated product in a new form of packaging. The new distribution concept was completed in less than 6 months, which is something we’re hugely proud of!’

Greening the supply chain

The Avebe manager is also proud of the developments in making the supply chain more sustainable. Agreements have been made on a new logistics hub close to Rotterdam in partner-ship with one of Avebe’s service providers. ‘During the course of 2018 our products will be shipped directly from this point to the customers. This will save more than 500,000 road kilometres a year from and to the warehouse in the Northern Netherlands. Our goal this year was to save a total of 3 million km of road transport, and we even overachieved that.’

Innovation Sales and Operations Planning

In February 2017 Avebe successfully implemented a new sales and financial planning system: SAP Integrated Business Planning system (IBP). Avebe is one of the first companies in the Netherlands to commission this cloud-based solution. Avebe received the SAP Quality Innovation Award for this innovative aspect and the way it was achieved. Edwin: ‘This system makes it possible for us to calculate the effects of scenarios more quickly, and makes the figures more accurate. We expect this to contribute to customer satisfaction and an improvement in delivery reliability.’