Chemicals

S. Black Ltd, an established and fast growing supplier of innovative products to the personal care, health care, food and fragrance ingredient markets, appointed RDFL to handle the distribution of its products across the UK and Ireland. The appointment came following a strategic review of its operations, which identified cost savings and service improvements to be made through better use of logistics.

"We operate in highly competitive markets, where service plays a key role in meeting customer satisfaction." said Andy Levoir of S. Black. "We realised we needed to be more flexible in our deliveries, particularly as many of our customers are moving over to just in time manufacture. It's essential that we support them through a delivery pattern that suits their manufacturing times. We looked at the distribution market and found that RDFL already operated across our market sectors and could offer the service improvements we required."

Prior to the new appointment, S. Black used a range of local carriers who delivered on a name day basis across a various geographical regions. Now the company's deliveries are tailored to their customers' needs nationwide. S. Black supplies over 6,000 tonnes of ingredients each year, much of which is made up of small units. Now those units become part of a bigger load, destined, in many cases, to the same manufacturer.

"By tapping into the services of a highly efficient logistics company, we have been able to reduce costs and improve our deliveries across the UK. RDFL operates their own depot network which ensures our product reaches our customers when they want it."