Greener, more reliable transport
Netherlands
Beer from Heineken's Zoeterwoude brewery in the Netherlands
is shipped worldwide from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.
The roads to the port, however, are notoriously congested and
Heineken sought an
alternative that was
more secure and
environmentally friendly.
Fred Holvast, Director
Customer Service and
Logistics at Heineken
Netherlands, says the
solution was to add
inland shipping to the
supply chain mix. The result is Alpherium, a container shipping
terminal a short drive away from the brewery.
"We came up with the idea 15 years ago. We worked with
government and the private sector to realise it and the terminal
became operational in October 2010. It is now the largest inland
container shipping terminal in the Netherlands," says Fred.
The terminal is owned and operated by logistics service provider
Van Uden. Other companies, mainly large retailers, will use
the terminal as well, but as the launching customer, Heineken's
volumes guaranteed the terminal would be commercially viable
before it was even built.
From the terminal, barges sail down quiet canals to the ports
of Rotterdam and Antwerp, without encountering any traffic
jams. The barges will return carrying containers full of Chinese
consumer goods, which are imported by the terminal's other
users. The containers, when emptied, are driven to the brewery
for a new shipment.
The terminal shows that doing good and doing business go
hand in hand. On an annual basis, Heineken has approximately
74,000 fewer truck transports to Rotterdam and Antwerp, which
amounts to almost 5.5 million kilometres. This not only eases road
congestion, but also reduces C02 emissions by 1,775 tons, or an
incredible 35 per cent, on the route from the brewery to the ports.
In addition, deliveries to the ports have become a lot more
reliable and cost effective. "We worked with Van Uden to
streamline our operations with theirs. We also invested in special IT
systems, so we now have a dedicated acceptance environment at
our disposal," Fred explains.
