DURING a ceremony at the London International Wine Fair, Boland Cellars of Paarl received the award for Supply Chain Partner of the Year from JF Hillebrand, the leading global beverage logistics provider in the United Kingdom.
The award was in recognition of Boland Cellars’ commitment to delivering service and product of an exceptional quality.
Boland Cellars is continuously building its international reputation as a progressive cellar. The company currently produces close to 2,6-million litres of wine of which approximately 57% is exported to key international markets such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Austria, Japan and Kenya.
Boland Cellars joined JF Hillebrand’s innovative Supply Chain Management programme in 2007 and now supplies its core brands, including the Boland Cellar Five Climates Single Varietal range, through the scheme.
In 2008, Boland Vineyards shipped in excess of 120,000 cases through the programme.
According to Jean du Toit, managing director of Boland Cellars, the current economic climate poses a severe challenge to suppliers, especially in the wine industry.
“We need to maintain our current customer base, while exploring new markets and growing our existing core markets.
“To achieve this, we need to grow both in volume and in perceived value proposition and this can only be accomplished when a company explores innovative alternatives to doing business.
“Systems such as the Supply Chain Management program has helped us to optimise our internal operations to provide better planning and management of the production and bottling of stock,” states du Toit.
He remains adamant that success lies in employing a market-driven approach that benefits both the end consumer and retail partners.
“Delivering a high quality service is very important to us and this scheme has enabled us to consistently meet the demands of our agent on time,” states du Toit.
* Boland Cellars has decided to donate the prize cheque of R18 000 to the SPCA in Paarl.
