Schweppervescence on a pallet

Open communication, a collaborative relationship, good customer service and high-quality pallets - these were the criteria Loscam had to meet to win a contract with major beverage company Schweppes Australia.

Talks began in May 2009 and a contract was signed in November that year. Then began a transition period that saw Schweppes, and the company’s customers and suppliers, seamlessly switch to Loscam pallets.

The bulk of the transition work was completed within about four months with Claudia Rodriguez, Schweppes Logistics Development Manager, putting the smooth transition down to Loscam’s efforts to work not only with Schweppes but with its large network of customers and suppliers.

“Loscam provided us with template letters to send to our suppliers and customers informing them of the change and those letters assisted us to communicate to those businesses that they would need to open an account with Loscam. Loscam started conversations with those suppliers and customers and helped that happen, which made the process a lot easier for us,” says Rodriguez.

Chris Camier, Logistics and Customer Operations Manager, says the ‘personal touch’ made the transition to Loscam pallets a ‘smooth’ process.

Rodriguez says the business relationship with Loscam has lived up to Schweppes’ expectations.

Daniel Bunnett, Loscam’s Commercial Manager, says the company is well versed in managing large transitions as it has previously managed transitions for major accounts such as Bunnings and Fonterra.

“We spent a lot of time and effort in drawing up a tailored transition plan that involved the establishment of all the required accounts - about 12 accounts in the case of Schweppes and many more for their supplier network,” he says.

“We also provided training and set-up software systems so Schweppes’ staff knew how to order and properly transfer pallets well before taking their first issue from Loscam. So when the transition began it was considered seamless, despite happening at the busiest time of the year for Loscam and for Schweppes.”