Kellogg’s: National Distribution Centre

Linfox has a long history of tailored solutions for FMCG companies in the Asia Pacific region. We developed a new sophisticated distribution centre (DC) that enabled Kellogg’s to better service the Asia Pacific. 

Our customer will achieve significant cost savings in labour through the adoption of this automated solution.

Company Overview

Kellogg’s global breakfast cereal leadership began with the accidental invention of flaked cereal in the United States in 1894. Its well-known brands were first produced in Australia in November 1924 and moved to Botany in 1928. Packaged product today is transported for national distribution or shipped to Perth and Asia Pacific markets.

The Situation

Kellogg’s realised it could not continue to serve the market from its existing supply chain network and asked Linfox to help. In 2002 Linfox began work with Kellogg’s on the design, build and commissioning of a new national distribution centre (DC). The Linfox group identified the construction and commissioning of the new national DC located adjacent to Kellogg’s manufacturing site, as a key strategic initiative.

The Challenge

The expected operational challenges of this project were:

• Commissioning of the facility to be completed on time and budget.
• The design of the facility to provide operational costs within target.
• Smooth and seamless transition of operations.

Why Linfox?

The vast majority of Linfox customers want reliability, security, visibility and speed to market. Product visibility and tracking throughout the supply chain are essential elements of effective supply chain management. The increasing rate of globalisation implies that employing effective technologies such as RFID and track and trace are critical to maintaining control of inventory and cargo shipments.

The Linfox Solution

• The development of the new DC encompassed: Design and construction of a 43,000m² distribution centre.
• Installation and commissioning of an automated storage and retrieval system.
• Installation of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) operating in a paperless environment.
• The development of a web portal view into the Linfox business systems to provide visibility of orders as they progress through the supply chain.
• Construction of a connecting conveyor air-bridge between the factory and the new DC for the transportation of finished goods into the facility.

The Results

The business results of this project were:

• A showcase national DC for the Kellogg’s to serve the Asia Pacific region with an innovative facility design, utilising a leading edge materials handling solution.
• Reduction in operating costs of 10 per cent over the term of the contract.
• Attractive warehousing facilities for potential customers.
• Reliable, robust system operations.

The facility exceeds the Kellogg’s requirement and Linfox is locating additional warehousing and distribution activities for another compatible company within the facility, to drive down costs.