Rob van Opzeeland:
“More trade companies looking for logistic partners”
“We are a logistic service supplier in the widest sense of the word. We do distribution, packaging, repackaging and storage, among others,” explains Rob. “To be able to work cost-efficiently, we need a lot of space. A building has to have enough docks and storage capacity.” Over the last ten year, in which Rob regularly looked at opening a new location in Barendrecht, it was consistently lacking a building that met these conditions at a good price. “We looked multiple times, but it never fitted. Then this location became available and we were able to do a good deal with the owner which tied the buildings to us for a number of years.”
Fruit and vegetable hotspot
The logistic service supplier is specialised in the storage and overhaul of food. Half of the turnover is realised by fruit and vegetables, the other half comes from other product groups. “To be of added value, we wanted a better spread of our cooling houses,” continues Rob. The business has four locations at the moment, spread over Elshout, De Meern, Waalwijk and Barendrecht. “Of course, Barendrecht is a hotspot for the fruit and vegetable trade. Products with a quick turnover can go to Barendrecht. Other customers will opt for the other locations.” It can be sensible for large parties to go to one of the other locations. There are also companies that consciously take products to a different location because they want to stay out of the mainstream.
Kivits-GOES was right on target with the new location in Barendrecht. “We are satisfied with the results and the occupation is above expectation,” says Rob. “We have both existing and new customer who bring their products to Barendrecht for completion now. We look towards the future with optimism.” Rob also sees more fruit and vegetable companies focusing on their core activity. They more often look for a partner for logistics, cooling houses, and packaging or repackaging. “The trade in fruit and vegetables in particular has peaks and dips, so the question is what structure you have.”
Flexible storage
Rob means peaks in supply. “Is your warehouse too full for most of year? Or are the cooling cells empty for a few months per year?” With flexible storage those peaks and dips are caught. “We can calculate what the costs per pallet are per customer beforehand,” says Rob. “We see outsourcing more often, but they are looking for a reliable partner who can take everything out of their hands. A partner that can send EDI invoices to supermarket, can repackage and arrange transport. There are more and more companies that don’t see logistics as a core business and want to outsource that.” Because the company becomes interwoven with the logistics suppliers stability and reliability are important in making the choice. “We have had a few incidents in logistics sector with companies that couldn’t make it in recent years. Our stability then becomes important.”
“When I see how quickly we transformed a location from a completely empty warehouse into a working logistics centre, it shows that the market places faith in us.” The various locations all have their own advantage. The locations in Meern and Waalwijk are high and suitable for longer storage. The location in Barendrecht suffices if pallets have to be collected quickly. All services offered at the other locations can also be found at the new one.”
More information:
Kivits Drunen:
Rob van Opzeeland
RobvanOpzeeland@kivitsdrunen.nl
Goes Handling
Ad Goes
agoes@goeshandling.nl