Discounter Aldi Süd has launched a new concept that combines fruit and vegetable logistics in one location.
The Aldi Süd Fresh-Produce Platform began operations in the Rhine-Main region in July, after a pilot project in North Rhine-Westphalia yielded valuable insights in terms of site selection.
Aldi Süd Fresh-Produce Platform
With the logistics platform, the retailer aims to reduce, to a minimum, the time and distance from the producer to the customer’s table.
The Aldi Süd Fresh-Produce Platform ensures the availability of goods on the fruit and vegetable shelves at competitive prices.
More than 300 Aldi Süd stores will receive daily supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables from the Ginsheim-Gustavsburg location, in the heart of the region, the discounter noted.
“We are delighted that we are now rolling out the Fresh-Produce Platform concept in the densely populated Rhine-Main region. This was only possible because we have been working in partnership with our suppliers for many years, and have now been able to implement a fresh-produce concept with them in this way,” explained Uli Voigtsberger, director of buying at Aldi Süd.
Increased Efficiency
On the Fresh-Produce Platform, all services – from goods import, sorting, disposition, and quality control to delivery to the regional companies – are bundled centrally.
As a result, the discounter shortens the supply chain and makes its logistics more efficient.
“By working directly with producers at origin, we also gain complete transparency along the entire supply chain,” added Voigtsberger.
Aldi Süd is also planning to implement the concept of the Fresh-Produce Platform in other regions in the near future.
Together with the long-standing supplier Fruchtimport vanWylick as a partner, another Fresh-Produce Platform is expected to start operations in North Rhine-Westphalia in the spring of 2023.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest supply chain news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
