Intro Box

Patak's

Following expansion and a new manufacturing facility, Patak’s outgrew its in-house warehousing operation and needed a quality logistics service.

Finding a logistics company that has real insight into the needs of each individual retailer and manufacturer can be a real challenge. Boughey (a subsidiary of NWF Group plc) works closely with all its customers to offer a flexible and effective logistics solution tailored to each client’s specific requirements.

The leading distributor provides Patak’s with a full logistics package using a shared warehousing facility at its newly developed facility in Deeside.  Previously, Patak’s relied on a local haulage provider to make deliveries in a partly consolidated manner, but was seeking a more robust and flexible operator.

The Boughey formula was to take control of product leaving the production line and manage the handling of these goods up to receipt by the retailer. This involved extensive integration of both company’s IT systems to produce mirror images of the inventory position. Patak’s is now able to disposition stock batches on its own system and Boughey automatically processes the status changes.

The stock is stored in a shared facility within the Boughey network of 75,000 pallet spaces (an additional 60,000 pallet space facility is due to be launched March 2007). Boughey’s IT system is able to pin point an individual pallet of goods, enabling a stock order to be efficiently located and consolidated with other suppliers’ goods. This allows Boughey to plan full loads of various products to the retailer’s distribution centres and gives efficient low cost deliveries. Sharing the cost of delivery benefits producers, retailers and shoppers.

Stock levels can also be ‘flexed’ by up to 50% without “bursting” the warehouse. This allows Pataks to meet seasonal demand for product without the need to manage the warehouse space required to house the stock.

The IT solutions deployed by Boughey and Pataks are amongst the most complex integration projects required by third party logistics providers :- Goods inwards pre advice, stock receipt advice, shipment orders, pick confirmations, goods disposition changes, stock adjustments, despatch confirmations and proof of delivery records are all handled electronically.  This process increases the speed and accuracy of transactions and removes considerable processing costs from the supply chain.

Working closely with customers and implementing strict quality control measures, Boughey offers an industry-leading service in a particularly challenging sector. The company ships over 200,000 cases per week for Pataks and offers both full pallet and case picking for the entire customer base. Stock rotation is governed by strict BBE (best before end) rules and the nature of Pataks products mean adherence is of paramount importance; retailers must receive the correct product, within date parameters and on time.

Additionally, Boughey manages Pataks’ CHEP pallet requirements, these are the familiar blue pallets most retailers use for transportation and bulk handling of goods. This is another area of expertise; Boughey manages the availability of pallets, whilst offering a lowest cost solution through pallet exchanges.

Keith Forster, Boughey MD, remarks: “We consistently deliver a quality service, enabling our customers to focus on the rest of their business, in the knowledge that we will meet storage and delivery requirements.

“We understand that a reliable service is crucial for major retailers, and that is why we are able to consistently provide 99.5% on day in full delivery for our customers.”

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