DailyFresh Logistics will start construction of a new consolidation centre for fresh produce in the French port town of Dunkirk this month. Strategically located nearby to both the cross-Channel ferry network and the Channel Tunnel, the new site is due to be finished by the end of 2005, and should enable exporters and retailers to transport fresh produce across the Channel more efficiently.
The temperature-controlled warehouse will cover around 6,000sqm and house 21 loading docks, with the additional capacity to extend to a maximum 18,000sqm as and when required. This is a major development for the Dutch logistics specialist, as it moves to expand its operation.
DailyFresh was formed in principle in 1998 as a joint venture between two competing transport operators, Visbeen and Post-Kogeko, and ferry line Norfolkline, part of the AP Möller-Maersk group. Each of them already specialised in distribution to the UK and Irish markets: Visbeen was particularly strong in Scotland, Norfolkline had established strong relationships with retailers Asda and Sainsbury’s, and Post-Kogeko’s activities included driver-accompanied freight on Le Shuttle.
In 2000, the DailyFresh company became a reality and it has expanded ever since. It operates today from premises in Poeldijk - a centrally located 7,000sqm temperature-controlled warehouse near the port of Rotterdam for the arrival and forwarding of product.
Managing director Dick van Herwaarden explains the objectives behind the DailyFresh concept: “We collect product for consolidation at our Poeldijk centre and dispatch direct to clients in the UK and Ireland. It is a simple concept but the real challenge is combining the volume with the precise timing.”
Three waves depart each day from Rotterdam: at 2.30pm for the north of England and Scotland, 6pm for the south east of England and London and finally an 8pm departure for direct deliveries to supermarkets. DailyFresh takes its last order three hours before final departure, which allows it to live up to its name, but represents quite a challenge. A 13-man team works exclusively on the sales/order-taking and logistics planning side of the operation.
DailyFresh operates a fleet of more than 500 trucks and uses more or less all of them every day. The extensive logistics network of its major stakeholders - both on road and sea - to deliver fresh produce anywhere in the UK within 12-18 hours, and within 36 hours to Ireland. The value of the service includes use of 100, 45ft reefer Coolboxx containers. “We are a one-stop-shop logistics service for produce flows from Europe and further afield and aim to cut costs throughout the supply chain by minimising the requirement to hold stock by reducing lead times and improving response time by efficient consolidation and cross-docking. This also enhances shelf-life expectations,” says van Herwaarden.
None of this of course is meaningful without flexibility, the need for which was also built in to the DailyFresh concept: “We can also use return legs for store deliveries. For instance, a truck returning from Bradford can easily load goods to deliver to shops on its way back to Dover.” This approach has pushed the company to leadership of the Benelux-UK/Ireland delivery sector, with an extensive and impressive client portfolio that it claims includes the top 10 supermarkets, importers, packers, wholesalers and caterers in the countries.
The proximity of Dunkirk to Dover and the UK has been an important part of the decision. The will of the port authority to expand its portfolio in fresh produce was also a factor. A new fruit terminal is planned and banana specialists are already operating at the port.
Van Herwaarden says: “Norfolkline has a regular and steady ferry line between Dunkirk and Dover. So we can profit from this to reach the UK and Ireland markets more efficiently and quickly.” The geographical position could also give DailyFresh the opportunity to develop the Belgian logistics market. In the future the company will redirect its Eurotunnel delivery wave through the new premises.
The French port has other trump cards: “Dunkirk has the advantage of being a deep-sea port and this offers good future potential, especially for containerised overseas fruit import,” says van Herwaarden. Maersk Sealand recently opened a route to the northern French port, as did another major shipper CGM-CGA. “Because we can bring all of the goods together in Dunkirk, our clients have the opportunity to decide on the final destination of the product at a later time,” says van Herwaarden.
DailyFresh also hopes to offer an alternative to importers and exporters who trade with Southern Europe. “The present inbound network from Spain is not as efficient as it could be,” says van Herwaarden. “The multiple collection and distribution point do not add value to the supply chain for many different reasons, ranging from working conditions and driver shortage to the road tolls and strikes that make road transport less reliable and increasingly expensive.
“Our Dunkirk centre will become a hub where allocation is possible with just 12 hours lead time for product flow from Poeldijk, other Benelux sources, France and Italy, and product from deep sea and reefer containers can be merged into the service.”
The second phase of development, with the timing subject to the speed of success of phase one, will be based on the forecast RoRo connection between Santander in Spain and Dunkirk. In time, the project could decrease the dependency on international road haulage, saving 1,100km road miles in the process.
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