Leading distribution firm Boughey came to the rescue when rival JDF collapsed, delivering thousands of pallets which would otherwise have been left stranded, and winning two new clients in the process.

Cheshire-based Boughey, which employs 600 people, was quick to act when JDF, a long established South Yorkshire business, was put into administration.  Despite the efforts of the administrators, a buyer was not found, and the company was liquidated, leaving thousands of customer orders unfulfilled.

Multiple Marketing and 3V Natural Foods were two of the companies affected by the demise of JDF, and thanks to the quick action of Boughey, their pallets were dispatched within a week.  As a result, they have both become clients of Boughey.

Managing Director Keith Forster commented: “JDF was a very long established company, with an excellent reputation in the sector.  Unfortunately the business became a casualty of the credit crisis, and its demise left hundreds of orders at the depot, waiting to be distributed.  Thanks to our large fleet, and huge state-of-the-art stock control system, we were able to respond immediately, collecting and distributing the pallets and clearing the backlog within a week or so.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Multiple Marketing and 3V Natural Foods, both of whom are key players within the food sector.”

Boughey’s investment in up-to-the-minute distribution technology means that 100,000 pallets a month are distributed by the company, with an average of 120 loads a day going in and out of Wardle. At peak times of the year such as Christmas, the number of loads will be nearer 200 a day.

LEADING distribution firm Boughey has recorded record turnover of £39.2m – an increase of almost 20 per cent on the previous year’s £32.9m.The Cheshire-based business, which employs 600 people, has further cemented its reputation in the ambient food sector and now boasts a portfolio of more than 200 clients.

The firm, part of the NWF Group plc, handles in excess of five per cent of the UK’s entire market in ambient, or non-perishable foods, while in the North West of England its market share is more than 25 per cent.

Boughey’s clients include Princes Foods, Complan, AB World Foods which includes brands such as Pataks, confectionery manufacturer Kinnerton and the Californian pineapple giant Dole.

Central to Boughey’s success has been its 55-acre purpose-built facility at Wardle, near Nantwich, which is home to the company’s fleet of 150 vehicles. Together with a sister site at Deeside, the Cheshire installation makes up almost a million square feet of warehousing capable of storing 115,000 pallets, all governed by a state-of-the-art stock control system.

Managing Director Keith Forster said: “This year’s strong financial performance is a result of our continual striving for improvement in the quality of service provided to our many clients.

“We invest in our people, facilities, technology and vehicles to ensure no stone is left unturned in a fiercely competitive market-place and hugely testing economic conditions.

“During the coming year, we plan to continue investing in the business and developing the service we provide to clients in the North West and elsewhere in the UK.”

Up to 100,000 pallets a month are distributed by Boughey with an average of 120 loads a day going in and out of Wardle. At peak times of the year such as Christmas, the number of loads will be nearer to 200 a day.

Boughey has come a long way since it was founded in 1964, originally specialising in the collection and delivery of milk from farms to customers.

In 2008, Boughey’s turnover was £32.9m, while three years ago it was £27.2m. During the past three years, the company has also boosted its workforce from 450 to 600.

How boughey’s chep pallet management systems are taking the load off customers’ minds.

They can be seen at goods depots, warehouses and behind the scenes at retailers all over the country; the ubiquitous wooden pallets on which every last box, bottle and carton must make the journey from manufacturer to supermarket shelf.

But just who is responsible for them… and how do they ensure there’s always a pallet available when and where it’s required?

For Boughey customers at least, managing this essential element in the supply chain is made easier by the provision of a dedicated pallet controller.

Che Kerin is the man responsible both for the pallets that pass through Boughey’s warehouses every day, as well as the pallets in wider circulation at any one time.

It’s his job not just to ensure consignments are palletised on arrival, but to manage the circulation of pallets between Boughey, the retailers’ regional distribution centres and back again.

In some cases, it also extends to providing pallets at UK customers’ manufacturing points. Making Boughey the custodian of a complete end-to-end pallet supply chain.

The payoff for the customer isn’t simply in the savings they make at every stage in that chain. It’s also in the time they save and the hassle they avoid by not having to manage the intricacies of the system for themselves.

As Che explains: ‘We ensure everything runs to plan so customers don’t have to be distracted from their core business chasing pallet returns, processing pallet control vouchers or overseeing the issue of new pallets.

It’s all about getting the balance of pallet intake and outtake right… and efficient communication between the customer, the retailers, the drivers and, of course, our CHEP representative.’

A world wide resource

With the exception of deliveries to Sainsbury’s distribution centres, all Boughey’s pallet management processes are integrated within the CHEP pallet pool.

The dark blue CHEP pallet is a common fixture in logistics the world over, and the operation behind it allows manufacturers, retailers and hauliers alike to share the assets and the economies of a combined resource.

Martyn Nicholls, Boughey Transport Operations Director, comments: ‘Not every distributor offers a full CHEP management service, but we see it as a way of adding real value and taking away what is often a big headache for our customers.

We have a good relationship with our CHEP representative that allows us to offer clients a premium service that fosters better relationships with their retail customers by keeping costs down and damage to stock to an absolute minimum.’

How boughey’s unique relationship with a sales agency shows logistics can be an indispensable part of the ‘marketing mix’.

Think of logistics and you think of a process with manufacturers and distributors at one end, retailers and consumers at the other… and in the middle, the trailers and warehouses that can handle the volumes that make it all possible. But as Boughey and Product Chain are demonstrating, there is another way.

Product Chain is a sales agency that specialises in bringing new, innovative brands to the mainstream consumer market.

By their very nature, such brands often have limited financial resources and limited access to the services that are essential for sustained success in the fast moving FMCG environment.

Product Chain’s solution? Instead of thinking bigger than your established competitors, think smarter.

Nowhere is that approach more apparent than in its choice of distribution provider for its client brands.

When initial monthly volumes may have amounted to 20 - 30 pallets, Boughey’s consolidated services helped brands such as Real Foods and, more recently, New Zealand Honey Specialities Ltd, establish a foothold in the competitive UK market.

In the case of NZ Honey, that foothold has turned into a presence in over 1,000 UK stores in under two years. And all against a backdrop of falling honey prices and the best efforts of the bee-killing varroa mite to decimate the industry worldwide.

‘Our relationship with Product Chain goes back some five years,’ comments Boughey MD Keith Forster.’ It works for us because our consolidated model is perfectly suited to smaller volume producers who couldn’t otherwise afford the facilities, schedules and drop frequency we offer. And it works for Product Chain because they can be confident their clients are receiving good customer service levels.

‘There’s no commercial relationship between us, just an arrangement that benefits everybody concerned. Product Chain customers deal direct with Boughey and enjoy all the cost advantages that come with it.’

Many of the products Boughey handle on behalf of Product Chain offer organic alternatives to mainstream brands. The manufacturers of those products expect that integrity to be maintained throughout the supply chain, and here Boughey’s organic warehousing and distribution status has been a more than significant factor in their continued relationship with Product Chain.

So as unusual as it may seem for a distribution company to be partnering a sales agency, you can be sure that whatever the next challenger brand Product Chain brings to market, it will be Boughey trailers delivering it to the stores.

From 5 a day to £4m per year: The amazing success story of ella’s kitchen, the latest customer to benefit from boughey’s  consolidated business model.

Just two years ago, Paul Lindley was wondering if giving up a successful career to start a business - literally from his kitchen table – was the right decision.  However, the decision has paid off and he’s now heading up a £4m business as well as being central to changing  kids eating habits in the UK.

With their fun and funky packaging, Ella’s Kitchen Smoothie Fruits, baby food and pasta sauces have achieved the impossible by making organic, additive free fruit and vegetables  ‘cool’ with a whole generation of kids.

Behind the colourful squishy, squeezy pouches, though, there’s a serious agenda: “Around 30 per cent of children in the UK are medically overweight and many kids just don’t get exposed to healthy, nutritious food.  As a father of two, I was keen to try to make some changes”, says founder Paul.

The fact that he knew little or nothing about food manufacturing didn’t deter him; working closely with kids to identify what they wanted to eat – as well as with nutritionists to identify what they should be eating, he was able to launch with two fruit smoothies that were as tasty as they were healthy.

What he did know was that securing listing with the UK’s most important multiples meant working with a distribution partner that understood the dynamics of the FMCG supply chain from start to finish.

“Boughey showed us how a consolidated warehousing and distribution model would allow us to service our retail customers, whatever the demand”, commented Paul. “Their scaleable logistics solution gives us real value for money and a reach that would otherwise be way beyond our means.”

The fact that a brand still managed from the Lindley family’s home is now available in 350 Sainsbury stores and at Tesco and Waitrose vindicates Paul’s decision to go with the UK’s leading ambient grocery logistics provider. As Boughey Managing Director Keith Forster observes:

“With around 500 pallets typically held at our Deeside depot, Ella’s Kitchen is by no means our largest customer. But its nationwide success shows that even without the throughput of the bigger brands, we can still offer a warehousing and distribution solution that allows them to compete at the very highest level. That’s the beauty of consolidation.”