Chain Supplier Of The Year

Silver Fern Farms announces Integrated Value Chain Supplier of the Year

Silver Fern Farms has announced its Integrated Value Chain Supplier of the Year – Blair and Anna Nelson from King Country. The award is designed to recognise and reward Silver Fern Farms’ top supplier to the company’s Marks & Spencer Supplier Club. Nelson Farms Partnership involves three generations farming together on 1095 hectares.

Eight suppliers made the judging this year and competition was fierce. The Nelsons took the title on the basis of their demonstrated commitment to the programme, excellent supply results, implementation of Marks & Spencer’s Plan A (environmental sustainability) objectives, and the extent of their contribution to the wider supply group. “Blair and Anna have been totally reliable in their forecasts and commitments, have worked hard to establish a system on farm to supply lambs to customer specification as efficiently as possible, and have been a driving force in supporting other suppliers to the programme within their area” said Renee Hogg, Integrated Supply Chain Manager.

The Marks & Spencer Supplier Club Programme is part of the Silver Fern Farms’ BackboneTM Integrated Value Chain Programme, which aims to link suppliers directly to a group of key global retail and foodservice customers.

“Our international customers expect lamb, beef and venison grown naturally in the pristine New Zealand environment to exact specifications. They require a guarantee of quality and a consistency of supply, and they want a fully integrated supply chain that links their plates to our pastures” said Keith Cooper, Chief Executive. “Building long term partnerships with these keystone customers will be vital to securing future prosperity for individual farmers and the industry as a whole”.

Silver Fern Farms’ Supplier Clubs aim to enable farmer partners to grow livestock to meet the exact customer specification and delivery periods, deliver rewards for meeting those criteria including price certainty on livestock supply, and also allow a collective approach to maintaining both consistency and continuity of supply. There are approximately 50 suppliers within Silver Fern Farms’ Marks & Spencer Supplier Club, spread from Northland to Southland, supplying 110,000 lambs a year over a 24-week period.

The external judges, Dave Nelson, Marks & Spencer supplier from Alfredon, and last season’s winner Julie Crawford from Gore, visited each finalist farm and conducted interviews to select the overall winner. The reward for the winners is a return trip to the UK in July to visit Marks & Spencer to enhance their understanding of the market, the supply chain, and the programme requirements. “Silver Fern Farms is very enthusiastic about the culture of continuous improvement on farm, and the competitive spirit that the Integrated Value Chain Supplier of the Year Award has inspired within the supply group this year” said Hogg. “We are delighted to be able to recognise Blair and Anna for their efforts to make the programme and their own farming operation a success”.

ENDS

© Scoop Media