Changes to way airflown shipments from London Heathrow are handled have sped up process, says company
Logistics company Kuehne & Nagel says it has substantially reduced transit times for fresh produce shipments into UAE-based supermarket operator Spinneys.
The group was recently tasked with streamlining the retailer’s supply chains for a number of perishable products – including fresh fruit and vegetables – that are flown by air from London to Dubai.
Key to its success, it says, is the introduction of so-called ‘through units’. These larger, consolidated batches of product remain intact throughout what, as a result, is a faster journey from London Heathrow airport to Spinneys’ own distribution hub in Kizad, Abu Dhabi.
“We analysed the entire transportation process and asked ourselves how we could surpass the status quo,” explains Rory Michael Mccreadie of Kuehne & Nagel UAE.
“The goal was to eliminate repetitive, time-consuming tasks like unpacking and repacking products at various transition points.”
At the Kizad warehouse, fresh produce is unloaded and unpacked, ready for distribution to more than 70 supermarkets across the UAE on the same day.
Menino Carmo Luis, warehouse operations manager at Spinneys, says the new process has shortened the supply chain by an “astonishing” four hours.
“This allows us to deliver fresh produce and stock shelves in time for evening shoppers, giving customers the freshness and quality they expect,” he comments.
