Kuehne + Nagel partners with the Irish Dairy Board to support its global expansion
The Irish Dairy Board (IDB), which already supplies international market leading brands of butter and cheeses such as Kerrygold, Dubliner Cheese and Pilgrim’s Choice to over 90 countries, is preparing for expansion from 2015. The abolition of EU milk quotas that same year willsee the Group significantly increase its production, and it plans to take its leading products to new markets around the world.
To support this expansion strategy, Kuehne + Nagel will provide a logistics solution to the IDB that is both global and flexible enough to handle the forecasted increase in product volumes, as well as maintaining the highest standards of quality control for food handling.
Under a new three-year agreement, Kuehne + Nagel will manage global transportation operations, including distribution of IDB products to over 90 countries by deep-sea freight with global planning, visibility and measurement tools provided by KN Login, the logistics provider’s web-based IT platform. In addition, continuous improvement projects will ensure optimum supply chain performance.
Fran Dodd, Purchasing Manager, IDB said, “As a customer focused export business, we need to know that our route to market is secure and that we deliver a best in class logistics service to our customers. We need to be certain that our products will arrive with our customers in the same premium quality as when they left our door. As we continue to grow our business and open new markets for Irish dairy products, we are confident that our partnership with Kuehne + Nagel will help us deliver our iconic brands and dairy ingredients, to all our customers, old and new.”
Commenting on the partnership, Pamela Doyle, National Manager for Kuehne + Nagel Ireland added, “The need to be globally competitive is felt as much by Irish exporters as any in Europe. Improved supply chain efficiency and speed to market are critical advantages that Kuehne + Nagel can help provide to the IDB at this exciting time of growth.”
About the Irish Dairy Board
The IDB is Ireland’s largest exporter of premium dairy products and a leading international food company with a global footprint that extends to over 90 countries.
The IDB has annualised sales in the region of €2 billion. Headquartered in Dublin, the business employs some 3,100 people globally. Over the past 50 years, the IDB has established vital routes to market for Irish dairy produce and is a leader in product innovation.
The IDB owns the internationally renowned Kerrygold brand – the Irish dairy industry’s most important marketing asset – along with other brands including Pilgrims Choice, Dubliner and Beo. The IDB’s food ingredients arm develops bespoke food ingredient solutions for many of the world’s major food manufacturing corporations.
A co-operative enterprise, the IDB is owned by Irish dairy processing co-operatives and dairy companies and, through them, by Irish dairy farmers. The IDB’s business is structured on three core platforms; Consumer Foods, Dairy Trading and Ingredients and DPI, a specialty food distribution company in the US.
Group subsidiaries in the UK, Germany and the USA pack, distribute and market a wide selection of branded products, dairy ingredients, specialty grocery, delicatessen and gourmet food items of both Irish and non-Irish origin.