M & C Wholesale Fruit & Veg Supplies (M & C Fruit & Veg) currently supply fresh fruit and vegetables plus a variety of freshly prepared salads to Hotels, Motels, Supermarkets, Specialty Retail, Nursing Homes, Educational and Medical Institutions, Cafes, Restaurants and everything in between.
Mark Brougham, Managing Director at M & C Fruit & Veg said, “Our business is built on the foundation of servicing our customer’s needs. We continue to this day to work with many of our original suppliers including growers and wholesalers across the country. For these reasons, we guarantee reliability plus consistency of quality and service for our clients.”
The Opportunity
M & C Fruit & Veg are committed to continuously improving their operations and unlocking efficiencies within the supply chain. With this focus and the roll out of the improved reusable equipment model at the South Australian Produce Markets, this leading business alongside CHEP pinpointed an opportunity to trial reusable plastic containers (RPCs). These RPCs would replace single use packaging, helping M & C Fruit & Veg fulfil their orders cost effectively and sustainably. This is an extension of the partnership that CHEP and M & C Fruit & Veg already have in place, as they currently use CHEP pallets to safely handle and move produce in their supply chain.
The Solution
To progress this opportunity in their supply chain, M & C Fruit & Veg partnered with CHEP to identify the optimal match of product and RPCs. They now use a combination of reusable platform solutions including pallets and RPCs to move and handle selected fresh produce lines with their clientele.
Mr Brougham said, “By using these platforms and the simple transaction portal, myCHEP, we are now in a better position to trace our CHEP equipment movements with our trading partners plus improve quality control. This is also helping us optimise our supply chain, reducing costs and, importantly, waste.”
The Results
Speaking about partnering with CHEP and utilising reusable platform solutions for produce flows, Mr Brougham said, “We’ve experiencing first-hand the benefits of working with CHEP and utilising the reusable equipment they can supply.
We’ve been able to improve produce quality through the platforms ability to better protect produce, even cool and facilitate air flow. This has enabled our team to provide our clients with the freshest and highest quality produce, which our customers love and expect from us.”
With the roll out of the improved reusable equipment model in the SA Produce Markets, M & C Fruit & Veg like other buyers are also benefitting from having a conveniently located market area to return all CHEP equipment to, free hire days, reduced waste and associated costs plus also the benefit of market rebates for using the reusable platforms.
Mr Brougham said, “These platforms and the fantastic support from the team at CHEP have helped us save time and costs, and reduce our environmental impact. We are looking forward to continuing to partner with CHEP and expand our use of reusable equipment.”
Pictured above from left to right is: Mark Brougham, Managing Director at M & C Fruit & Veg and Simon Johnson, Senior Manager, Customer Supply Chain Solutions at CHEP Australia