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Saint-Gobain Abrasives European Distribution
We at Seacon Logistics are very happy with our clients, which is why we're keen to share stories of great collaborations. Here we talk to Karel van Dijk, Supply Chain Officer at Saint-Gobain Abrasives.
Saint-Gobain Abrasives provides customers worldwide with quality products for grinding and sanding solutions. These products enable our customers to shape and surface-finish all types of materials, even in the most complex and challenging applications. With 63 production sites and branches in 27 countries, Saint-Gobain is the world's largest manufacturer of abrasives.
Saint-Gobain Abrasives EMEA's biggest distribution centre is located in the trimodal logistics hotspot Born. This distribution centre serves an important purpose, with more than 18,000 unique stock items and an extremely high level of service. They serve more than 3,000 customers per year, selling 75 million products annually.
"We choose to work with a trusted partner, someone whose quality and service we can be sure of."
Karel van Dijk Supply Chain Officer
Solution
"The collaboration between Seacon Logistics and Saint-Gobain started in 2003," Karel says. “At the time we were also working with Limij BV in Nuth a lot, for transports to and from Italy. In 2008 Limij in Nuth was acquired by Seacon and all their activities were combined. Saint-Gobain and Seacon are now located in the same building in Born, which has only intensified their collaboration. Our production location in Eibergen and various branches around the world now work with Seacon too."
“The Italian DIY market is very large, which is why we distribute a lot of Saint-Gobain products to businesses there (including wholesalers). Seacon is our Italy expert; they take care of all distribution to and from the Italian branches," Karel says. “The order picking is done in the distribution centre in Born, before being transported to the various destinations. Shipments from places such as Germany, for example, are also transported to Italy. The goods are combined with shipments from Born.”
“In recent years we've built up a good relationship and we know what we're able to offer each other. We have contracts with various distribution partners. For countries where we don't yet have any permanent partners, we often choose to work with Seacon. We don't just want to appoint someone at random to carry out the logistics process for us; that's why we work with a trusted partner, someone whose quality and service we can be sure of."
“This quality and service is very important to us. Seacon has built up a large amount of knowledge about Saint-Gobain, and they know better than anyone how to handle our products and the best way to transport them. Seacon's flexibility is another plus; logistics issues and any problems that might come up are sorted out quickly. The personal contact is a bonus too – they're always friendly when you call and there's no such thing as a stupid question. For these reasons we see Seacon as a partner, not as a 'standard carrier'. That's a sign of a successful collaboration."
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