TOPS extends its leadership role in food safety Signs memorandum of understanding with Kasetsart University

Bangkok--Sep 27--Tops supermarket TOPS Supermarket has joined forces with two renowned academic institutions to extend its leadership role in food safety. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed recently at the TOPS corporate office, fostering cooperation in agri-supply chain management training between CRC Ahold Company Limited, Kasetsart University of Bangkok and the Wageningen School of Management in The Netherlands. TOPS' parent, Royal Ahold, the international food retail and foodservice company, is headquartered in The Netherlands. Agri-supply chain management training course at Kasetsart The MoU calls for the three parties to establish a seven-week training course on agri-supply chain management at Kasetsart University between September and November 2001. The partners will jointly develop a tailor-made curriculum covering all aspects of supply chain management, from food safety to logistics and cost accounting. Attending the course will be trainees from the Thai and international business community, relevant policy making institutes and ministries, and other stakeholders in the food and agri-industry. Course lecturers will be drawn from Kasetsart, Wageningen and CRC Ahold as well as other international players in the agri-supply chain in Thailand. In addition, a revolving fund has been set up that enables the program to be repeated and to explore other fields for cooperation. Food safety further enhanced in Thailand The major objective of this management training course is to boost knowledge levels and awareness of agri-supply chain principles, building on TOPS' mission to further increase the safety, quality and freshness of food sold to local customers in 40 stores throughout Thailand. TOPS has embarked on an agri-supply chain project with local farmers and suppliers of fruit and vegetables to minimize pesticide use, accelerate the supply chain and improve agri-practice nationwide. Among the partners joining TOPS, Kasetsart and Wageningen in this initiative are the Dutch Embassy in Thailand, in close cooperation with the Thai Department of Agriculture (DoA), the KLICT, a Dutch organization specializing in supply chain management, Syngenta, the leading Swiss agri-business company, the SGS group (Switzerland) which focuses on certification enforcement, Rabobank International and the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) in The Netherlands. A Board meeting comprising of representatives of these institutions and companies recently approved the TOPS supply chain initiative by providing funding and management time. In its ongoing efforts to provide safe, quality, fresh food to increasingly discerning and knowledgeable local customers, TOPS works exclusively with 40 farmers and produce suppliers who have consistently adhered to stringent certification standards in recent years. TOPS has developed incentives for farmers and suppliers to optimize use of pesticide in crop production, to improve quality assurance and enhance certification procedures. By the end of 2001, the number of farmers and suppliers having attained certification by the DoA is expected to have risen to 60. As part of its commitment to food safety, TOPS established "World Fresh" in 1998 to position itself as the leader in fresh food processing and distribution. This fresh distribution center (DC) focuses on improving the efficiency of chain logistics by receiving supplier products, assisting individual stores in the process of quality and stock control. The 5,000 sq.m. facility currently achieves service levels of 97% and has been able to reduce strategic inventory stocks to less than two days. The DC has a volume output of 300,000 baskets a month and impacts considerably and positively on heightened food safety, quality levels and freshness for local TOPS customers. Remarks by Harry Bruijniks, CEO of TOPS Supermarket "We believe that being a partner in this supply chain management training project enables us to provide the safest food to our local customers through our 40 stores," said Harry Bruijniks, CEO of TOPS Supermarket. "One of the crucial issues in our industry today is food safety and we are committed to optimizing the integrity of the supply chain. TOPS wants to build bridges towards other food retailers in the country to ensure the supply chain management know-how they too have acquired in other countries can be well used in Thailand." TOPS is a one-stop shopping supermarket carrying a wide range of produce, meat, fish, seafood, groceries, dairy and bakery products. It also carries an assortment of international food items and a line of TOPS branded products. TOPS supermarkets are operated by CRC Ahold Co.,Ltd , a joint Venture between Central Retail Corporation and Royal Ahold of the Netherlands. Royal Ahold operates 8,500 stores in 25 countries with 2000 sales exceeding USD 50 billion. End -SS-

• ข่าวSchool of Management
• ข่าวTOPS Supermarket
• ข่าวo:eco
• ข่าวo:loc
• ข่าวo:med