When keeping cool counts
A full-service fleet
Frozen baked goods don’t tolerate even the slightest variance. The temperature, timing and quality have to be spot on at all times. This is precisely what motivated Aryzta Food Solutions to rethink its in-house logistics strategy from scratch – and set it on a new course.
As well as its own frozen products, Aryzta Food Solutions transports produce for other manufacturers.
Sometimes the best decision is also the easiest one: just do it yourself. And that’s exactly what Aryzta Food Solutions has done – with its own fleet of refrigerated semi-trailers complete with Full Service contracts from Schmitz Cargobull, it has found a solution that provides it with the perfect combination of reliability and predictability.
The Swiss food corporation Aryzta is one of the world’s leading producers of frozen baked goods and has five branches in Germany. These sites supply the company’s 10,000 or so delivery facilities across the country. Its sales company Aryzta Food Solutions not only sells the corporation’s own produce, but also transports products for other food manufacturers – both on long-distance routes between warehouses, and on local routes for direct deliveries to retailers.
Growth calls for more than just flexibility
For a long time, the company relied on external transport solutions and leased refrigerated trailers – a model that offered flexibility. However, as volumes began to grow and quality requirements rose, the approach was increasingly reaching its limits.
“We realised that we would be able to manage our food transportation more reliably, more punctually, and with a higher standard of quality if we were to use our own fleet,” said Ronny Szepanski, Head of Logistics at Aryzta Food Solutions. “This was the point of departure for a fundamental revision of our procurement model.”
“We opted for a contract lease including a Full Service contract because this model offers us the ideal level of flexibility, cost predictability, and operational reliability.”
Ronny Szepanski, Head of Logistics, Aryzta Food Solutions
Lease first, calculate later
The transition to an in-house fleet of semi-trailers was straightforward. Aryzta Food Solutions started by leasing refrigerated trailers so it could get things up and running quickly. And at the same time, it made pragmatic calculations. After all, any business planning to expand its fleet on an extensive scale needs a model that is scalable, predictable and easy to manage.
The calculations comparing a classic acquisition and a contract lease swung clearly in one direction. “When it came to refrigerated semi-trailers, we opted for a contract lease including a Full Service contract because this model offers us the ideal combination of flexibility, cost predictability and operational reliability,” explains Szepanski.
Growing trust, clear decisions
When it came to choosing a partner, Aryzta Food Solutions based its decision on its positive experience with Schmitz Cargobull in the past. The company had worked on some insurance business with the trailer manufacturer previously. They were familiar with one another, and there was trust there. “This experience formed the basis for our current working relationship,” explains Szepanski. “We knew that Schmitz Cargobull had the expertise we needed and that they really understood us as a partner.”
Today, Arytza Food Solutions’ fleet is made up of 15 semi-trailers and 110 trucks for smaller scale distribution. All of the trailers have two chambers, which are able to combine frozen goods and dry goods. Five more semi-trailers are set to join the fleet over the year to come.
The Aryzta Food Solutions fleet currently consists of 15 refrigerated semi-trailers and 110 distribution trucks with refrigerated bodies.
Thanks to the contract lease and full-service agreement, the operating costs of the refrigerated semi-trailers for Aryzta Food Solutions can be calculated easily and reliably.
The promise? Zero downtime
Szepanski perfectly sums up what makes a Full Service contract so valuable to a company like his: “Zero downtime – that’s the most decisive thing for us.”
When you’re dealing with frozen goods, a broken-down trailer is not just an annoyance. Broken cold chains, failure to meet delivery windows and, potentially, spoiled produce are immediate and costly consequences. And this gap is precisely where the Full Service contract comes in: Maintenance, repairs, tyre service and replacement trailers are all governed within the agreement. “With this model, Schmitz Cargobull can guarantee us maximum reliability,” said Szepanski. “This gives us the security we need for our business.”
Apart from the vehicles and conditions, there is something else that Aryzta has come to appreciate: “The overall package is flexible and tailored carefully to our needs. The support from Schmitz Cargobull is open, transparent and solution-oriented.”
With a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year, the Aryzta site in Eisleben is one of the largest producers of frozen baked goods in Europe.
Finding out what suits each business
Szepanski advises any business thinking about making a similar decision to prioritise one thing: check, check and check again. “Companies should always analyse in advance which financing option is really the best fit for their business – and which options are manageable on an admin. level.” After all, the best model doesn’t benefit anyone if you can’t manage it in-house.
The decision to opt for a contract lease with a Full Service contract from Schmitz Cargobull has paid off for Aryzta Food Solutions. Delivery reliability is at 98.5 per cent, the reliability of fleet planning has also improved, and the amount of administrative time required has fallen.
About Aryzta Food Solutions
Aryzta Food Solutions is the sales company of Aryzta AG, one of the leading suppliers of frozen baked goods. Within Germany, the company supplies around 10,000 customers in the areas of retail and catering. Logistics processes are managed from the head office in Freiburg and from other sites in Hamburg, Unna, Heppenheim, Stuttgart and Munich, along with twelve transshipment points. As well as selling and delivering the group’s own products, Aryzta Food Solutions also transports goods on behalf of other food producers. The fleet is made up of 15 semi-trailers and 110 distribution trucks. All of the trailers are temperature-controlled and feature a two-chamber system for frozen and dry goods.
