CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s largest supply chain management companies has won a three year contract for the European distribution of spare parts for Vermeer – the family-owned, world-leading brand in agricultural and industrial equipment. The new European distribution center (EDC) will operate from CEVA’s Roosendaal facility in the Netherlands.
In addition, CEVA will provide integrated ocean services to Vermeer from its Pella, Iowa, USA headquarters. This will enable Vermeer to support the new central warehouse at Roosendaal with additional parts which are made and stored in the U.S. and which CEVA will then ship to Europe.
Operations went live this month following extensive CEVA trials, testing of all EDI interchanges, training and building interfaces with customer systems. As a result of using the new EDC, Vermeer dealers and customers will see their lead times on product orders reduced by 1-2 days, representing a considerable improvement in service for both.
“By centralizing high-demand products closer to their area of use we are now able to handle the majority of Vermeer spares through CEVA’s Roosendaal facility,” states Mark Bekkers, CEVA Business Development Manager who worked with Vermeer to design the innovative solution to precisely suit its requirements. “Our team here really understands the Vermeer Corporation’s need for an agile logistics partner and we believe our multi-discipline services and IT solutions will have a streamlining effect on their spare parts service and will improve efficiency for both its dealers and end-users.” An additional benefit to Vermeer in appointing CEVA to handle its European distribution is that it will also be able to offer an EU-overnight drop ship delivery service to end users.
Commenting on the new logistics concept for Vermeer, the company’s Parts Manager, Ruben Coppoolse said: “This arrangement helps support our company growth and customer experience goals by positioning high-demand items at a central warehouse in the Netherlands allowing Vermeer to replenish stock parts at the dealer level in a timely manner. Vermeer will also be able to facilitate EU-overnight dropship delivery to customers.”
