Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Nestlé continues to achieve improvements in organic sales growth through consumer-driven innovation that also strives to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. That’s no small task when you consider the company produces and sells powered and liquid beverages, milk products and ice cream, pet care and confectionery products, prepared dishes and water in more than 180 countries. Such an enterprise maintains very sophisticated and tightly orchestrated supply chains.

How Nestlé is Creating Competitive Advantage

Across its operational networks, Nestlé has deployed flexible and scalable digital solutions to enhance responsiveness. These multi-year initiatives are enabling the company to better leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and collaborative robotics to support factory autonomation and end-of-line customization. Nestlé recently has expanded the scope of these programs to increase the flow, accessibility and utility of real-time data in areas such as procurement and supply chain management. These efforts support their drive to enhance transparency and traceability along its supply chains.

Supply Chain Strategy

Nestlé continues to step up its capacity to capture and share data across its value chains. The company works with supply chain partners to pilot solutions that will better balance efficiency and resiliency. For example, Nestlé recently increased the scope of its Transport Hub technologies to cover 50 percent of its global logistics network. In parallel, Nestlé extended the scope of its AI-powered network optimization tools to evaluate different product sourcing and delivery scenarios. This has enhanced its ability to respond quickly to changes in demand and to optimize transport and production schedules. These tools enable Nestlé to better service its customers and reduce its operational carbon footprint. Nestlé USA also operates a large private fleet (ranked 50th according to Transport Topics 2020 Top 100 Private Fleets).

Nestlé DC Recently Contracted with XPO to Build Innovative Hub

XPO Logistics Inc. has built an “innovation hub” for testing new warehouse technologies into a British distribution center it operates for the food and beverage brand Nestlé.

XPO and Nestlé said the new site has now begun full operations following a phased opening and a design process that began in 2018. Working in conjunction with logistics tech provider Swisslog Logistics Automation, XPO built the 638,000-square-foot “Digital Distribution Warehouse of the Future” in Leicestershire, on a railhead in central England about halfway between Manchester and London. View full article as covered by DC Velocity

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