Consolidated ingredients supply cuts transport costs

Processors are increasingly consolidating ingredients sourcing as an important way of cutting costs, according to ingredients logistics firm Atchison Topeka.

The company, which is based in Droitwich, Worcestershire, offers a ‘food ingredients network’, a one-stop shop for processors to cut distribution costs. “Because there’s a broad spectrum of ingredients suppliers, we group individual consignments together to make one delivery,” said md Mike Philips.

Atchison Topeka has just clinched a contract with biscuit manufacturer McVities to store and distribute egg powder to factories in Aintree, Halifax, Manchester and Glasgow. It has also invested in warehousing space for 20,000 pallets and improving its distribution fleet.

Philips said the move towards consolidating ingredients distribution was driven by the increasing trend towards ‘just in time’ supply, with manufacturers keen to reduce surplus stock costs.
“Manufacturers are not investing in warehousing or anything except plant,” he said. “We aim to take costs out of the inbound supply chain, whereas a lot of people are focused on outbound costs.”
He said he envisaged a time in which processors dealt directly with third-party logistics firms for their ingredients needs, not ingredients suppliers.