Industry
Service
The Compleat Food Group stands out as one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, producing both branded and own-label products that reach millions of consumers. Its portfolio boasts familiar names such as Pork Farms, Wall’s Pastry, Squeaky Bean®, Unearthed®, Vasdasz, and Wrights. With over 2,500 employees working across 10 sites, the group serves major supermarkets and foodservice companies, combining scale, quality, and innovation to meet evolving consumer demands nationwide.
The Compleat Food Group’s growth brought increasing complexity to its supply chain. With the business operating through multiple divisions, logistics processes were fragmented, costly, and difficult to align. Around 80% of goods were transported by road from Europe, making deliveries expensive, unreliable, and vulnerable to Brexit-related port delays. Seasonal peaks such as Christmas and Easter added further pressure on chilled storage and forecasting, creating risk of disruption. Key challenges included:
- Heavy reliance on road freight, driving up costs and reducing reliability.
- Separate divisions and logistics processes, causing modal and carbon emission inefficiencies
- Lack of chilled storage capacity and forecasting pressures during peak demand.
- Port congestion and Brexit uncertainty affecting supply lead times.
Denholm Good Logistics delivered a fully tailored strategy that addressed cost, efficiency, and sustainability across the group’s operations. By consolidating logistics processes and transitioning to sea freight, the partnership created a more resilient supply chain with capacity to support future growth. The solution included:
- Shifting significant volumes from road to sea freight, reducing costs and improving reliability.
- Cutting CO2 emissions through transitioning to sea freight.
- Enhancing forecasting, planning, and chilled storage capacity during seasonal peaks.
- Securing extended free time on containers, reducing rental and demurrage costs.
The partnership has transformed the supply chain into a more efficient, sustainable, and scalable operation. Cost savings, reduced emissions, and greater reliability have provided the group with the flexibility to manage peak periods and support long-term expansion. Key results included:
- Freight cost savings of around £2.4 million.
- 76% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to road transport.
- Improved forecasting accuracy and chilled storage management during peak demand.
- Lower rental and demurrage charges through extended container free time.
Industry Recognition
The success of this collaboration has been recognised across the logistics sector, with Denholm Good Logistics and The Compleat Food Group winning the Ocean Services Award at the BIFA Freight Service Awards 2024, underlining the positive impact of this long-term partnership.
