Improving the chinese tomato paste supply chain

Author: Peter West
2nd July 2016

Challenges

Our customer is a leading Chinese processor of tomato paste, producing more than 500,000 MT (metric ton) annually. In a fiercely competitive market with constant downward pressure on prices they needed to find ways to remove costs and non-value adding activities from the supply chain so as to maintain and grow their business.

Solutions for the tomato paste industry

The team at Maia Global worked closely with the client to perform an end-to-end analysis of their business. We then identified the areas where best practices or improvements could be applied. Our supply chain improvement program consisted of the following key elements:

1. More efficient packaging:

It was decided to implement an ORCA packaging rental program across 90% of their volumes. This would support a push to a semi-bulk supply chain, improve container utilisation, reduce handling and improving cash-flow.

2. Unlocking improved value:

By implementing a certified international supply chain, the customer was able to unlock the premiums that are realised by selling closely to the end customer. This removed at least one middle man, gave the customer more control of their sales and improved market intelligence.

3. Fixed cost logistics:

By extending their supply chain, the customer was nervous about the uncertainty of new costs. We were able to provide fixed cost rate per MT so they could lock in their profits on customer contracts.

4. Developing a strong and stable platform:

While it is not seen as the most “sexy” part of supply chain innovations, maintaining a strong platform is one of the most fundamental factors criteria to unlocking savings. We implemented customer specific standard operating procedures to govern the way Maia Global managed the customers supply chain. This provided the customer with a consistency, standard re-porting, key performance indicators and supply chain visibility tools.

Results

The customer was able to realise direct supply chain savings of more than USD 25.00 per MT and reduced administration costs. This program has improved the customers return on sales by more than 7.5%.

For more information, please contact the team at Maia Global on info@maia-global.com to see what we can do to help your business.