Premium Spirits Logistics for Suntory Global Spirits: The Perfect Serve from FIEGE
Suntory Global Spirits: the name says it all. With a history that spans over 200 years, the company is one of the world’s leading purveyors of spirits. Be it Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Scotch Single Malt from the Inner Hebrides or Japan’s oldest Whisky: premium products deserve premium services. And since 2022, those services have been in the hands of FIEGE.
Highlights at a glance
- Flexible and future-proof logistics solution – FIEGE not only offers first-class fulfilment, but also long-term growth opportunities. The partnership enables a scalable and adaptable logistics strategy for the future.
- Maximum reliability and innovative optimisation – through pan-European projects, stock levels, savings potential and logistics can be continuously made more efficient.
- Successful relocation during ongoing operations – in 2023, FIEGE was able to master the move to Emmerich during ongoing operations without any disruptions, which underlines the high level of logistics expertise and risk management capability.
There is a time and place for everything. The FIEGE branch in Emmerich is proof of this. It is here, directly on the border with the Netherlands, that FIEGE handles the logistics for Suntory Global Spirits. “We were looking for a service provider that could offer both top notch fulfilment and flexible, long-term growth options”, recalls André Marks, Senior Manager Supply Chain Fulfillment – Germany & Northern Europe at the family business that has US and Japanese roots.
Suntory Global Spirits found their match in FIEGE. During the very first chemistry talk, both sides really hit it off, as Marks remembers: “The FIEGE team and their many years of expertise in FMCG convinced us and gave us the feeling that they genuinely wanted us as a client. Add to this that on a personal level, everything was just right.” The official start then followed in June 2022.
Smooth relocation: optimised logistics & value-added services in Emmerich
In the beginning, FIEGE handled operations from its FMCG location in Bocholt, Münsterland. In mid-2023, the logistical processing moved to the branch in Emmerich which back then had just been extended – and all of this took place while operations continued. Markus Pohle, the Branch Manager says: “Relocating at this level is almost like open-heart surgery. If anything goes wrong, it can easily become a logistical disaster because default contingency concepts do not work.” Fortunately, however, everything went smoothly.
In the old Hanseatic town where roughly 70,000 square metres are dedicated to logistics across two multi-user centres, FIEGE oversees value-added services such as display set-up and finishing next to warehousing operations for around 9,000 pallets. “Our location here in Emmerich is ideal because our proximity to the container terminal near the river Rhine and the A3 motorway means that we have multimodal connections to crucial European routeways”, Pohle explains. Moreover, there is an excise warehouse which operates under a FIEGE licence: “We bear the full responsibility for customs clearance and excise duty clearance so that our client can focus 100 percent on their core competence.”
FMCG logistics at the highest level: efficiency, reliability & innovation with FIEGE
Marks also appreciates the service: “FIEGE, like us, are market leaders in their respective industry, and in the FMCG sector in particular, their expertise is very comprehensive. That is paramount for us because, during peak situations, we must be able to count on maximum dependability in distribution.” FIEGE is also responsible for this in Germany and Austria – from central warehouse supply to sending out individual bottles from the high-value segment.
The result: Suntory Global Spirits and FIEGE have been gradually and continuously expanding their business transactions since 2022. Markus Pohle points out: “We partner up to work on pan-European projects such as delivery, to optimise stocks and tap potential savings. Moreover, we look for innovative possibilities to handle the logistics for our client just that little bit more efficiently.” After all, FIEGE’s ultra-modern facilities in Emmerich could easily accommodate various automation options: “Currently this is still a long way off for the handling of individual bottles. But Rome wasn’t built in a day either”, is how Pohle outlines the overall vision.
Strong partnership: Shared values, trust & excellent service in logistics
Both sides contribute to maintaining their solid interpersonal relationship which, if at all possible, has improved even further: “Our client recently staged an event to which our team was also invited. Suntory Global Spirits came up with a signature drink on this occasion, the FIEGE Sour, just for us”, Pohle tells us. For him and his colleagues, this is a very special token of appreciation.
Marks agrees and summarises things as follows: “In some places people drink Whisky, in other they prefer Whiskey. In the end, the decisive point for us is that our premium products are delivered to their destinations fast, safely and with a consistent quality of service. FIEGE is a highly reliable partner in this regard – and that is all the more reason to bring out a toast.”
Our solutions
Experience logistics at the highest level – innovative, professional and future-orientated. Contact us for a non-binding consultation!
