Arla Foods trusts STEF with the transport and logistics of its fresh products in France

Jean-Dominique Castellani, Managing Director of ARLA FOODS France, and Serge CAPITAINE, Deputy Executive Officer of STEF (European specialist for cold logistics for food and thermos-sensitive products.) have signed a new contract for the provision of transport and logistics services for fresh food products (+2°C / +4°C) which will cover the delivery of 15,000 tonnes of cheese, butter and cream annually to over 500 locations in France.

The Arla Foods – STEF partnership involves:

• 15,000 tonnes of fresh products delivered annually to over 500 destinations.
• 50 different products concerned
• A permanent storage capacity of 1,000 palettes
• A guaranteed chilled environment (+2°C / +4°C)

Castellani, Managing Director, Arla Foods France, commented: "The STEF Group has been an Arla Foods agri-food supply chain partner since 2007, so we are very happy to be partnering with them in order to execute our development strategy and optimise our logistics processes. STEF submitted a comprehensive logistics proposal which both meets our needs and caters to our production and distribution requirements. Their cutting-edge fresh food products expertise (+2°C / +4°C) and their ability to deliver in France within 24 hours, 6 days a week, were decisive to our choice of partner. Furthermore, STEF's Brignais and Plessis-Belleville sites are ideal hubs for product delivery both in the North and South of the country."

The contract means that STEF will perform qualitative and quantitative checks on goods coming from a range of Arla Foods sites located in France, Germany and Denmark and arriving in Brignais (Rhône-Alpes) and Plessis-Belleville (Picardy). STEF will manage both the storage of goods at a controlled temperature and the preparation and co-packing of orders.

Furthermore, STEF will manage all of the upstream transport tasks for any delivery network (large-scale retail and non-domestic catering) and any volume to destinations in France with next-day delivery guaranteed.

To ensure comprehensive traceability and to monitor deliveries, STEF will provide optimised logistics services thanks to the group's WMS and TMS ICT systems. Exclusive, web-based stock management services (e-stock, e-order, etc.) will also be made available.