Belgium-based Colruyt Group’s wholesale division has concluded the integration of Alvocol, which had provided purchasing, storage and transport services for Alvo supermarkets.
All of the grocery products that had been in the Alvo distribution centre in Bornem have been moved to Retail Partners Colruyt Group’s site in Mechelen, which also serves Spar.
Colruyt says that the integration ensures that all parties involved will now be able to profit from the scale of Colruyt Group, from the group itself, to the Alvo supermarkets and organization.
More than 30 employees at the Alvocol Bornem site were affected by the change, but half of them joined the site in Mechelen, and 14 others have found new jobs.
"We're very happy that almost everyone found a fitting solution rather quickly", said Dirk Depoorter, general director of Retail Partners Colruyt Group.
"We have helped those who did not come with us to find a new job, either within the group or outside it."
One of the challenges facing Colruyt during the integration was aligning Spar and Alvo’s product ranges, which together comprised of 12,000 items. The purchasing teams involved managed to reduce that number to 8,000.
Three quarters of the range will now be available at both Spar and Alvo, who each maintain around one thousand of their own products.
"This streamlined product range is much more manageable, logistically speaking, which is an advantage to us and all our partners", commented Depoorter.
Another challenge was that Bornem and Mechelen used different computer systems. In bringing the two operations together, Colruyt’s IT specialists worked to align both without causing any problems for retailers.
"Whether it concerns IT, the move itself, the employment, or the product range, the entire operation went smoothly thanks to an intensive collaboration with all the partners", Depoorter concluded.
Retail Partners Colruyt Group and the Alvo organization have also signed a new collaboration contract. Purchasing and logistics will now be managed entirely by Colruyt from the site in Mechelen, and Alvo will handle marketing and the brand’s commercial strategy.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
