Produce World, which supplies fresh vegetables to supermarkets throughout the UK, enlisted IPP Logipal to create a dedicated pallet system.
The supplier supplies produce through a portfolio of names including RB Organic, Isleham Fresh Produce and Marshalls, making more than half a million pallet movements a year.
The company provides products from a mixture of own grown crops, as well as sourcing from joint venture partnerships and collaborative working with dedicated grower groups both in the UK and overseas.
IPP Logipal works with Produce World’s logistics providers, which now use its pallets to deliver goods to retailers before collecting empty pallets on return journeys.
The move has increased vehicle utilisation, while reducing associated food miles and carbon dioxide emissions.
Stephen Bowdler, group procurement manager at Produce World, says: “We needed someone to think outside the box and come up with a solution to meet our needs by both controlling costs and providing a high-quality service.
“IPP Logipal… presented a service that really delivers on all fronts – quality pallets, easy administration and helps to control overheads in this tough economic climate.”
The service developed is particularly suitable for major fresh food producers or suppliers of chilled products where there are a minimum of 300,000 pallet movements a year to main retailers and a customer requires pallet collections.
