Birds Eye gains supply chain efficiencies with CHEP equipment management

Birds Eye says it has reduced its average trip costs by 10% during the past year by outsourcing its equipment management to CHEP, a provider of pallet and container pooling services.

The company said that outsourcing equipment management, including the capture of the supply chain activity flows, provides significant efficiencies and cost savings as it can focus on its core business.

Birds Eye, an international frozen foods company, said that it has gained supply chain efficiencies, reducing its average trip costs by 10% during the past year by outsourcing its equipment management to CHEP, a provider of pallet and container pooling services.

The company said that outsourcing equipment management, including the capture of the supply chain activity flows, provides significant efficiencies and cost savings as it can focus on its core business.

In order to service the Birds Eye business, the CHEP Equipment Management (CEM) team organizes over 550,000 CHEP pallet movements a year. CEM uses a bespoke software system, which constantly analyzes Birds Eye's supply chain and spots any anomalies so that immediate action can be taken.

The supply chain analysis also helps Birds Eye to deal with sudden increases in demand, such as when the UK pea harvest reaches its peak, between June-August every year, which witnesses an increase up to 12,000 pallets issued in a week.

Neil Mason, head of distribution at Birds Eye, said: "CEM really operates as an extension to my own team. The CEM team works tirelessly in the background, validating and double checking all the pallet movements on and off our account. The team has provided an excellent service since we have outsourced this function and there has definitely been a significant benefit in terms of improved efficiency, whilst also minimizing pallet losses."

Kathryn Orange, senior manager of CHEP, said: "The main advantage of CEM is that it enables us to be pro-active and support the Birds Eye supply chain including production facilities and co-packing firms located across Europe."

Birds Eye has recently opened a new distribution centre at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and plans to complete the move from its existing cold store in the Midlands by the end of June 2010. The new facility is strategically located to support its UK distribution operation and also convenient for its Lowestoft factory, the company said.