PORT INTERNATIONAL develops Exclusive Partner Programme
The German fruit and vegetable importer and marketer Port International brings its cooperation with single producers and service providers to the next level. The company is known as a pioneer of the industry and offers a wide assortment of high-quality products from around the world. With the recently launched “Exclusive Partner Programme” the company aims to intensify vertical integration by increasingly establishing long-term partnerships with companies worldwide. This is to improve long-term planning security on both sides and enable sustainable joint development.
The principle is easy: Exclusive Partners offer their products or services mainly to Port International. In return, they benefit not only from long-term plannability, but also from the company's extensive expertise. They get access to a large network and receive business and cultivation consultation as well as support for management tasks and project implementations.
Especially in terms of sustainability management, this really pays off. “Experience as well as upcoming legislations show that future requirements can only be met by seeking joint long-term cooperations.”, says Jan Köbbing, Sustainability Manager at Port International. “The great advantage of our partnerships is that solutions can be developed together, and they can be implemented with joint strength. This simplifies the process on both sides and leads to great results.”
The cucumber farm Zeiler Hungária is a prime example for such a successful partnership: Last year the Exclusive Partner Farm started growing salad cucumbers in a highly modern glass house with LED lighting and geothermal heating that allows growing cucumbers climate-friendly and resource-saving all year around. Planning and promotion happened in closest cooperation between Zeiler und Port International and the result benefits both: Port receives high-quality products from a sustainable and innovative partner and Zeiler benefits from the company's strong network and sales.
Another exclusive partner is the Ecuadorian banana producer BananaGoldCorp, which grows organic bananas on more than 645 hectares of land. Through the exclusive partnership with Port International, the company was able to improve its position in the market: “For our company and banana suppliers it was essential to have an exclusive partner that lets us grow as exporter and gives us high credibility in the market.”, says Pedro Morales, Head of BananaGoldCorp. But the advantages go beyond that: By sharing the goal of a sustainable industry development, both companies also work closely together to implement sustainability initiatives such as conversing the farms to solar power and optimizing the water usage.
One thing is for sure: In times like these, it pays for importers, producers and service providers to work closely together, exchange and plan for the long term. Want to join? Visit us at stand 10F12!