3663 National Frozen Consolidation Service to Expand
May 22, 2008
We are expanding our successful 3663 First for Food Service national frozen consolidation service, with the opening of an additional centre in Wolverhampton. The service, which offers case-level consolidated distribution to each of 3663’s 32 depots, allows 3663 suppliers to pay by the case, rather than by the pallet for delivery of stock. 3663 suppliers will be able to take advantage of the new centre when it opens on 1st June 2008!
We have operated our national consolidation service for 3663 since 1994 from our depot in Grimsby and currently includes 110 suppliers and 1500 different product lines. By opening a second centre in a more central location, we hope to attract more members into the scheme. The benefits to 3663 suppliers in using the consolidation service are many and varied, as our Sales and Commercial Director, Carl Robinson explains:
"Our key objective is to simplify the process for frozen food manufacturers to be able to supply 3663 efficiently. Suppliers need only to deliver their stock to one of our centres, or we can collect it for them, and we will do the rest, saving suppliers time, money, administration effort and road miles; helping to reduce the carbon footprint of all involved. We will store their product until a 3663 depot requests it and then deliver, with products from other suppliers, on consolidated pallets. This allows us to offer a very attractive supply chain solution for case deliveries, which could not be achieved in any other way."
He continued...
"But the benefits of the service don't end there. Our leading edge on-line stock management system enables suppliers to view the status of their stock in our cold store in real time. They can check the status of deliveries into our store and orders raised by 3663 for delivery to their depots. They will receive automatic email alerts should stocks fall below agreed levels.
As a commitment to the success of the schem, we have appointed a new Supplier Service Co-ordinator dedicated to work with 3663 and its suppliers to ensure that they get the most out of our system. In short, everything is geared towards supporting 3663 suppliers and working with them to avoid costly shortages."
Jim Gouldie, Head of Supply Chain at 3663 First for Foodservice said...
"ACS&T's National Consolidation Scheme for frozen food products is tried and tested, with clear benefits for all parties. The IT system is superb since it gives instant access to up to the minute information regarding stock levels and deliveries. It plays a critical part in ensuring that we can always offer a full range of our products to our customers throughout the UK. This is of course vital because if products are available, they can be sold. We have worked with ACS&T for many years and thrust them implicitly with our frozen food distribution work. We welcome the extension of the service to Wolverhampton, and look forward to discussing supply to 3663 with our suppliers."
Suppliers using 3663 First for Foodservice national frozen consolidation scheme will also be able to benefit from a range of value added services offered by three new ACS&T divisions, covering temperature controlled services, production support and co-packing. Consolidation service members may be particularly interested in our BRC approved packing facilities at Wolverhampton together with its blast freezing, tempering and manufacturing support services.
If you would like to receive further information about 3663 First for Foodservice national consolidation service, please email Sara Olivant at ACS&T Logistics on sales@acst.co.uk, or phone 01472 358207.