Last week Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize and Xavier Piesvaux, CEO Delhaize Belgium, opened Bakker Belgium's new distribution centre. “In order to strengthen and shorten the chain, Bakker Belgium invested in a new distribution centre for fresh fruit and vegetables in the Belgian town of Boom. The distribution centre will exclusively operate for Delhaize. The first delivery was made from the new site on 18 November and at the moment we are scaling up,” says Roel Dekelver, spokesperson for Delhaize Belgium. "Although the building is already in use, our ambition is to be fully operational by the summer of 2020."
“To further guarantee the freshness and quality of the supply to our customers, Delhaize is committed to shortening and strengthening our relationship with our producers and suppliers of fruit and vegetables. To reinforce that ambition, Delhaize entered into a strategic partnership with Bakker Belgium, part of the Belgian Greenyard. "We have chosen Bakker Belgium because of their expertise and years of experience as a service provider in the fresh fruit and vegetable supply", says Roel.
At the Boom site, Bakker Belgium has access to 20,000 m2 for warehousing, packaging and ripening facilities. Adrie Bakker, General Manager Bakker Belgium, “We are very happy with the strategic partnership with Delhaize. The opening is an important milestone in this. With our years of experience, we are committed to providing Delhaize customers with the best quality fruit and vegetables. ”
“For the Belgian growers and producers of fruit and vegetables, the partnership between Delhaize and Bakker Belgium offers extra opportunities in the form of a direct and close relationship with the customer, more stable conditions, longer-term agreements and an important perspective for further growth in the future. For Delhaize, bundling and optimising supply ensures stable delivery of super fresh products to our distribution centres and to our stores. The cooperation with Bakker Belgium will help us to make our motto 'A better life starts with better food" visible to our customers in the best way," concludes Dekelver.