CHH appoints lead provider for NZ freight

Carter Holt Harvey appoints lead provider for NZ freight

13 July 2005

Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) today announced it has appointed Matrix Logistics Ltd as the lead service provider for all CHH freight movements within New Zealand.

Chief Executive of Procurement at Carter Holt Harvey Tony White said the contract term with Matrix was initially for five years, enabling investment in specialised equipment to improve performance. The contract does not include dedicated log transport.

“Throughout the extensive sourcing process, Carter Holt Harvey was looking for a lead provider it could form a strong strategic relationship with and identified this in the partners in Matrix who have had previous operational experience on over 90% of CHH sites. The main objective of the process is to improve service levels and mitigate the effects of increasing fuel costs and congestion,” Tony White said.

With a spend of around $100 million annually on New Zealand domestic freight, this is the largest single managed freight operation in New Zealand. Under previous arrangements, individual CHH businesses in New Zealand developed their own contracts for freight. CHH already has a single lead service provider in place for its Australian operations.

“The new operating model makes all freight movements visible to Matrix enabling them to develop an optimal solution. It will mean a much more efficient utilisation of the transport network with less total truck movements on New Zealand roads and fewer empty truck trips,” Tony White said.

CHH expects that under management by Matrix most current sub-contractors will be maintained, with changes to routing and actual transport tasks to improve utilisation.

Matrix Logistics Ltd is a company formed by NZL Group Ltd and Provincial Freighters Ltd for the purpose of providing CHH with the service. Provincial currently services CHH Woodproducts business and NZL have a significant role in Pulp & Paper Distribution.

“This is a significant move towards world class performance in our logistics and the model has the ability to scale according to our requirements in the years ahead. The arrangement is initially for CHH businesses but has the flexibility to accommodate other parties,” Mr White said.

ENDS

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