Kien Logistics Management has taken care of the complete European distribution and global logistics of outgoing shipments of Farm Frites International for three years now. Manager Frans Denie is now dedicating himself to expand the current model into a cooperative from and for producers and shippers of fresh and frozen food products. “Our mission is horizontal cooperation in the supply chain, so food producers can serve their customers even better while at the same time being in control of their logistical costs.”
“Kien is a transport-independent, logistical platform without a profit motive. We don’t have our own lorries, but direct, guide and optimise logistical flows. Producers and shippers gain insight in and control of their own logistics, and they profit from the synergy benefits and knowledge exchange in a global network,” Frans sums up the advantages. “Our aim isn’t to become a major party, but a high-quality logistical platform of five high-quality producers or shippers who truly choose to structurally make their logistical services more sustainable.”
Before this, Frans worked for Post-Kogeko Logistics for 30 years, and closely experienced the cooperation between the companies Visbeen, Post-Kogeko and Norfolkline in DailyFresh Logistics. To this end, transport flows of fruit and vegetables were bundled and transported from the Netherlands to the UK in particular.
“This cooperation of three transporters didn’t just lead to less fracturing and more efficient solutions, but was also the base for a unique and successful logistical concept. In the Kien model we also believe in the cooperative strength of a limited number of strong producers who participate and become shareholders of the cooperative.”
“After three years of developments behind the scenes, we’re now ready and looking for an expansion of the model with other food producers and shippers. Companies that are active in onions, soft fruit or mushrooms seem obvious because of the temperature regime. Because we purely focus on conditioned transport, bundling flows and handling export containers, we can make use of the bought transport capacity much more effectively and intelligently,” Frans says. “You’re now seeing many producers outsourcing their transport, but much logistical knowledge was lost this way, particularly since the crisis. Producers and shippers are realising more and more that logistics are an important part of service to their customers.”
More information:
Kien Logistics Management
Frans Denie