Or bread & bakery products, freshness is one of the key quality criteria. Childhood memories bring the taste of freshly-baked bread crust that is impossible to resist while you run back home from the store with a fragrant loaf. It’s obvious, that for “fresh” product category the speed of its delivery is extremely important, that is why excellent logistics is a must-have for every bread brand.
One can get the impression that everything is quite easy with logistics at the bakery: the freshly baked bread must be promptly delivered from the production area to the grocery store shelf. In fact, the logistics of fresh produce is one of the most complex business processes, which requires a very efficient supply chain management.
In order to have a clear understanding of TM ‘Rumianets’ logistics, first of all you need to see the scope of work in a bit more detail.
We are currently delivering bread to 10 regions of Ukraine: Rivne region, Volyn, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernivtsi regions. In total, there are about 1,500 retail points of sale.
The main task of our logistics department is to arrange the delivery of products so that both in Rivne city and, say in Frankivsk or Kyiv (or in any of the 1,500 locations) a customer is able to buy a fresh loaf of Rumianets bread dropping into the shop.
On closer look it gets pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Then we invite you to familiarize yourself with the work of the TM ‘Rumianets’ logistics center! Let’s get started!
Schematically our logistics chain looks the following way:
Production → Logistics centre: bread cooling → slicing & packaging → product placement arrangement → picking up orders → loading products into the cars → delivery to the POS (points of sale) → return to the logistics centre.
Product packaging
On the stage of cooling and packaging our bread & bakery products go through different processes. Donuts, croissants, muffins, rolls, grissini, zavyvanets and their smaller options do not need to be cut and cool down faster, so they are packaged immediately at the production area. The bakery products of this kind arrive at the logistics center already packaged.
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For bread the procedure is somewhat different. We pick up bread while it is still warm from the production area and take it to the logistics center. Then it goes to the packaging area and stays there until it cools down completely. Hot bread cannot be cut, because it is quite crumbly. It is also prohibited to pack warm loaves in order not to speed up the spoilage of product. This way the bread fully cools down in the logistics center, then it is sliced and packaged. We reveal more about packaging process of our products in the following article (link).
After being packaged, bread is moved to warehouse with a special computerized racking system from Pcdata company (Netherlands). Picking up orders and loading of the cars take place at this location.
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Picking up orders
Getting back to 1,500 retail points of sale where our bread and other bakery products will go to. Each retail shop has its own list of products they want to see on their shelves. In addition, we have a big range of goods to choose from, as there are over 100 SKUs in the assortment of TM ‘Rumianets’.
It is clear that without up-to-date technical solutions it would not be possible to process a large number of individual orders per day. The modern Pick to Light logistics automation solution by Pcdata company (Netherlands) enables us to cope with this task at high speed and with the utmost accuracy.
All the products after packaging are placed on special flow racks, where there is an exact slot for each SKU. A sensor with display is attached to each slot.
First of all, the customer’s order is uploaded into electronic system. Next, the sensors on the racks signal to the operators which products and in what quantity have to be selected for this particular order.
This model of picking up the orders is often used by bakery products manufacturers in different European countries. Maximum automation of the process makes it easier to select the products and speeds up the work in the whole, avoiding employees making mistakes. Even with the large number of customers we ensure 99% pick-and-pack accuracy.
Product delivery
Apart from managing the work of logistics center efficiently, it is quite important to do the correct planning of the routes while delivering bakery product of “fresh” category.
For instance, a store starts working at 7:00 and they want to have freshly baked bread on the shelf before it opens its doors. It is a crucial issue in logistics of bread & bakery products. If you plan the route or sequence of delivery to the points of sale not properly, you might create inconveniences for the shop and customers.
Even in the logistics of bakery products, you have to remember that personalized customer service is the backbone of business. Going the extra mile to exceed customer expectation indicates a high level service of a trademark.
Our flee park currently reaches over 100 vehicles, all of them are equipped with GPS system. The cars follow clearly defined routes. We can track the car’s route during its movement and react promptly in case of any issues. GPS navigation data makes it possible to monitor the routes and modify them as needed.
Logistics 24/7
It is no exaggeration to say that the work of our logistics center never stops. It is a 24/7 commitment, as bread & bakery goods production at TM ‘Rumianets’ is a continuous process. Slicing and packaging of products run around the clock, but the delivery on most routes needs to be performed at night or in early morning hours. Due to this constant work, you will definitely enjoy a fresh bread loaf in Rivne, as well as in Frankivsk or Kyiv purchasing it in the nearest shop.
