Primeur: “IDP: your food &feed logistics partner”
For nearly thirty years, International Distribution Partners (IDP) has given its customers a single and reliable point of contact for their supply chain. IDP manages forwarding, customs, transport, storage, quality control and FASFC inspections at one physical location. IDP, based in the Port of Antwerp, has built its reputation on one principle: “From port to customer, across the entire food and feed chain.”
AN INTEGRATED SERVICE, FROM TERMINAL TO DESTINATION
IDP offers a fully integrated logistics solution for the food and feed sector — from fruits and vegetables to beverages, nuts and seeds and so on — serving the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Vlissingen. Its facility in the port of Antwerp combines ambient and temperature-controlled storage.
“Every link in the supply chain is managed centrally at our facilities” says Raf Tassent, General Manager at IDP.“We act as a one-stop-shop for our customers. Our comprehensive offering includes forwarding, transport, customs solutions, cold- and ambient storage as well as quality control and mandatory FASFC- inspections.”
IDP has a dedicated team of customer service officers, including customs brokers and quality control inspectors. This integrated model has only advantages: fewer parties involved, fewer handovers and fewer opportunities for something to go wrong. “We act as a one-stop-shop logistic partner for our customers.”
COMPLIANCE BUILT IN, NOT BOLTED ON
As a recognized bonded warehouse and officially registered banana weigher, as well as an inspection centre approved by the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), IDP is authorized to carry out the import procedures on-site that some other 3PL providers may need to outsource elsewhere. There is no need to move perishables off-site for a mandatory inspection.
IDP’s customs department lodges declarations and verifies documentation before a shipment arrives. So discrepancies are identified — and resolved — before they can delay the release of a container.
Beyond the mandatory verifications, IDP also offers quality inspections against a customer’s own specifications: e.g. quality control upon arrival, temperature verification, packaging condition and count upon arrival. Non-conformities are reported back in real time.
PROVEN BY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP
Citronex, the Polish banana importer behind the Yellow Bananas brand, has worked with IDP for more than 25 years, relying on IDP’s knowledge for customs, banana-autocontrol systems, quality control and storage support. When a container was flagged for extra documentation checks on a Friday afternoon — usually the worst possible timing — IDP had it resolved by Monday morning, with no demurrage charged. “That’s the difference between a logistics partner and a logistics vendor,” says Anna Krakowiak, Supply Chain Director of Citronex.
“We know exactly what we are getting, and they know exactly how we work.” — Citronex, on 25 years with IDP
Where a flagged consignment once meant trucking it across Antwerp for inspection and losing a day, it now happens on IDP’s own floor. “We’ve cut that step out of our process entirely,” Marek Szulc, Director of Citronex adds. And when a pallet doesn’t match specification — wrong temperature, damaged packaging, whatever it is — Citronex knows within hours rather than after it has already left the warehouse. “That’s given us time to act instead of just finding out too late.”
What keeps the relationship going, though, isn’t any one fix — it’s the pattern behind it. “We’ve worked with IDP for so many years. In that time, we’ve never had to re-explain our business”. “That continuity is worth more than any single service line item.
KEEPING PACE WITH THE PORT
As volumes through the Port of Antwerp continue to grow, IDP expects to keep expanding its storage and inspection capacity to continue meeting increasing demand from food & feed companies. IDP’s model is simple: one location, one team, and direct responsibility for every step between the vessel and the customer.
